Equilibrium
by LicoriceSnoCone
Summary: Somehow, through one another, they were able to find balance. Written in response to the Fanfic 100 challenge on LJ. Mirage/Sideswipe slash
1. 42 Triangles

**A/N **Because I'm a glutton for punishment I've decided to try the fanfic100 challenge. This drabble involves implied twincest and a Lambo sammich with Mirage in the Middle.

Prompt 42-Triangle.

He loved Sideswipe. Sideswipe loved him, but their relationship was not that simple. Sunstreaker loved Sideswipe, and Sideswipe loved Sunstreaker. He loved him more than life itself. Mirage tried not to be jealous. He tried so hard not to be envious of the bond Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had.

However, there were moments where neither of them spoke a word out loud, but they exchanged knowing glances or smiles. They shared two halves of the same spark. Their bond was deeper than any connection he and Sideswipe could ever share. At those times, knowing that Sunstreaker was closer to him than he ever could be, he couldn't help but be jealous.

It didn't help that Sunstreaker was overly protective his brother. He could remember times when he and Sideswipe fought. Sunstreaker attacked him, his massive yellow hands encircling his neck. Threatening, "If you break his spark..." By now the glares and growls had ceased, but Sunstreaker remained cold and distant.

It put Sideswipe in the most awkward of positions, and Mirage felt as if he were forcing Sideswipe to choose between himself and his brother.

But Sideswipe was convinced he'd finally found a solution to the animosity between his bond mate and his twin brother. _"Are you sure you want to do this?" _Sideswipe asked through their bond.

"_Yes. I mean, I know you share everything with your brother. I just think this might create more problems between Sunstreaker and I, not solve them." _Mirage answered nervously. His knees hit the berth and his whole form trembled.

"_Thank you. Maybe this way Sunstreaker will finally understand..." _Sideswipe kissed his bond mate. _"Sunny?"_ Sideswipe asked through the bond he shared with his brother. Sideswipe kissed his twin on the cheek, and trailed a finger down an exposed shoulder junction.

"Yeah whatever, just make sure he doesn't scratch my paint" 


	2. 02 Middles

Prompt 02-Middles

**A/N **this is a sequel to 42 Triangles.

He woke up to a tingling pain in his right arm. It was pinioned underneath something that pinched the wires and cut off the data feed to it. He tried to move, but he was sandwiched in an area so small he couldn't.

Upon onlining his optics he noticed that that something was his bond mate Sideswipe. Sideswipe's crimson arms were wrapped around Mirage's abdomen in a vice like grip. His mouth was agape almost comically, and his optics were dimmed in a state of peaceful recharge.

A bright yellow arm was wrapped around Mirage, and a yellow hand rested protectively on Sideswipe's chest plate. He could feel the prickle of air from Sunstreaker's intakes against his neck. He could feel lips resting against his exposed neck junction and an audio horn pressed against his cheek.

His legs were ensnared too. One of Sunstreaker's golden leg rested between his thighs while Sideswipe's legs were leisurely over top of his legs. The only thing he could move was his left arm. The only thing could do was reach toward the ceiling, or caress one of his lovers.

"Maybe next time you could be in the middle," Mirage murmured, kissing Sideswipe on the bridge of his nose and slipping back into recharge.


	3. 27 Parents

Prompt 27-Parents

"Would you?" Sideswipe whispered. Their helms pressed together, and his thumb traced languid circles against his lover's cheek.

"Of course...of course I will."

Sideswipe's placid expression morphed into an audio-to-audio grin before pressing Mirage's lips to his own.

Forever. He was ready to stay with Mirage forever. He never expected to be able to tolerate another mech for the rest of his life, save Sunstreaker. Somehow he'd not only managed to find another mech he tolerated, he'd fallen in love, and he wanted to share the rest of his life with Mirage. Part of him couldn't believe it, but asking him felt right, the rush he felt when Mirage said yes felt right, being near him felt right.

"There's just one thing you have to do first," Mirage murmured breaking the kiss.

"Anything." If Mirage asked for Cybertron and all its moons he would've gladly died trying to get them for his lover.

"You have to ask my creator for his permission and blessing before we do anything."

"Whatever you want." Sideswipe answered shakily. Putting sucrose in his own fuel tank would be infinitely better than confronting Mirage's creator. The mech hated him, and made him unimaginably nervous. But when he thought about it really didn't matter. Mirage said he'd bond with him, and he'd do anything it took to make it so.

You really think you're successful enough to support a bond mate?" The mech that was harassing Sideswipe turned his gaze from the red mech so he could closely examine his fingertips.

"Yes sir, I do." Sideswipe replied calmly.

"Mirage...Mirage is my only creation. He means everything to me." Cold blue optics bore down on Sideswipe, and it took every ounce of his self-control to remain calm. Mirage's father irritated him in every way. If his lover's creator wasn't insulting him, he was trying his hardest to make him feel guilty or uncomfortable. "I have spent my life building my business so he will be comfortable. I have sent him to the finest Cybertronian academies. What can you do for him?" The elder's gray hand curled into a tight fist.

"I can love him."

"Sideswipe. You are a loud, disrespectful, reckless young mech. When it comes to your skills at a merchant, they are lackluster at best. You're not an excruciatingly intelligent mech either, are you? Really you're just a mech designed to do grunt work that just got lucky." The mech uncurled his hand and allowed his helm to rest in it. "But for some reason my son, my only creation, is as in love with you as you are of him. I see the way his optics glitter when he sees you. There is this certain grin he has...He wears it only for you. You may think that a rusting old mech like me has forgotten what its like to feel that way...but I haven't forgotten. That is why, as much as I'd like to, I cannot say no to you bonding with my son."


	4. 01 Beginnings

Prompt 01-Beginnings

**A/N **This drabble follows prompt 27 Parents. It stems from the idea that Transformers can have big elaborate weddings too. The visor is a mech-esque version of a veil. Warnings for mild cheesiness...

"Ready?" Sideswipe gently touched the back of his bonded-to-be's hand.

"No," Mirage bit his lip nervously and slipped his cobalt hand into Sideswipe's crimson one. "What if I trip and fall on my way out to the platform? What if I get so nervous my systems reboot and I forget my vows? What if..."

"Raji!" Sideswipe grabbed the blue mech's shoulders and spun him around to face him. "What if a giant meteor enters Cybertron's orbit, crash lands, and kills us all? What if the reactors deep inside Cybertron suddenly explode?" Sideswipe flailed his arms frantically. "Seriously, calm down."

"How can you be so calm?"

"I dunno...Think of it this way. It's not the ceremony part that matters. It's what happens afterward that really counts."

"Everyone's out there Sideswipe. My creator, all his business partners, your brother, our friends, all your business partners...I think I'm going to reboot-"

"Look if you're that nervous just turn invisible like you always do when you're nervous. We'll just do the ceremony that way. Or we can just skip all this slag, run away, and bond unannounced like normal, sane mechs," Sideswipe chuckled.

"Sides..." Mirage groaned.

"If it's any consolation you look ridiculous in that visor." Sideswipe gently touched the lens that covered his lover's optics.

"Likewise," Mirage retorted.

The ceremony was held at the most beautiful location in all of Cybertron, the Helix Gardens. Beautiful blue crystals bordered the either side of them, and formed a natural alter. On either side of the isle hundreds of mechs, some they didn't even know, gathered to witness their ceremony.

"Till all are one, I'm one with you." Mirage's voice was confident and proud. It had none of the nervousness it held before.

"When our Sparks are bonded I'll see things anew, and I'll only have optics for you." Sideswipe initially thought the ceremonial vows were absurd, and another part of bloated Cybertronian lore. However, at this very moment, they seemed to personify his emotion perfectly.

Sideswipe placed his hands on either side of Mirage's helm and cautiously removed the visor that covered his optics. Then he bent down and kissed each optic gently.

Mirage repeated the vow and kissed Sideswipes optics. "Till all are one," Their bodies moved without thought or consequence, and their lips met in a passionate kiss, personifying the bond they would soon share. Mirage's shaking and wobbling knees gave way, but Sideswipe held him firm.

"Till all are one," The congregation responded.

"It just feels weird. When we leave this room there's going to be a whole gala full of people wishing us luck. Everyone is going to know that we...you know..."

"Primus Raji you can't be serious!" Sideswipe groaned flopping onto the large berth. "I mean who would've though that an important part of a crazy huge bonding ceremony like this would include bonding!"

"Sides...I know...It's just...This part just feels...weird...forced almost." The pair sat in Mirage's room on a berth large enough for ten mechs.

"Maybe, but it shouldn't really matter as long as we're together."

"How are you able to do it?" Mirage sat on the berth.

"Do what?" Sideswipe began to rub either side of Mirage's neck loosening tight wires.

"How are you always able to say just the right thing?" Sideswipe pulled the blue mech to his chest and continued his ministrations. "Somehow you always make my fears disappear...How?"

"I wish I could give you an answer Raji..." Sideswipe punctuated his confusion with a kiss. There were still so many mysteries when it came to Mirage. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to be one with the mech he lay with, and every astro second they remained un-bonded he felt incomplete.

His spark casing opened with a soft click. "But I could ask the same thing of you."

"_Hey slaggers, it's been like a million breems...How 'bout showing up to your own damn reception?" _Sunstreaker buzzed through their bond. Sideswipe couldn't help but chuckle. His brother was alone with rooms full of high-class mechs. He was nervous, and probably trying his hardest not to punch some arrogant mech in the face.

"_We'll be down in a klik Sunny."_

Mirage recharged soundly like a sparkling. The blue mech had never looked so peaceful or free of worry. The last thing Sideswipe wanted to do was wake him. _"Raji...Raji..."_ He spoke gently through their bond. He was used to sharing his thoughts with another, but Mirage had never shared his spark. It would take him awhile to get used to it.

Mirage mumbled something incomprehensive and buried his face in Sideswipe's shoulder. _"Babe...we have a party to go to. Sunny's down there all by himself with your creator and his friends."_

"_What?"_ Mirage woke with a start. _"Hey, is this our bond? Are we talking trough our bond?"_

"_Yeah,"_ Sideswipe replied. _"You're doing good, especially since the bond is so new."_

"I don't want to go to that party..._ I want to stay in the berth with you..." _Mirage dug his fingers into a gap in Sideswipe's plating.

"You don't care that Sunstreaker's pissed off and alone? Normally you'd get so freaked out over something like this."

"No, I think it has something to do with the part of your spark that's inside of me..."

"_Then you won't care if I run downstairs, get really drunk, and tell everyone about the processor melting interface we just had!"_ Sideswipe disentangled himself from Mirage and darted out of the room.

"_Sideswipe!" _


	5. 56 Breakfast

Prompt 56-Breakfast

**AN: **This is inspired by one of Darknlite's pictures of the Lambo twins.

"You're up early," Sideswipe murmured onlining his optics and stretching his arms high above his head. From the tiny porthole in their quarters he could barley see the sun peeking over the horizon. He quickly looked at his chronometer to confirm the time, 5:45 A.M.

"I hope I didn't wake you," Mirage replied approaching the berth where his bond mate lay. "I have patrol duty in downtown Portland in eighteen hundred astro seconds." He lay down next to his lover on the berth.

"Oh yeah..." The Lamborghini placed an arm a round Mirage's chest plate, and propped his helm up with his arm. "Already hit the wash racks?" He touched a few forgotten water droplets streaked the white and blue metal of Mirage's chest plate. He breathed in, and he couldn't help but notice the alluring scent of detergent on his lover.

"Yes," the racecar replied.

"I don't want you to go," the Lamborghini complained. "See if Sunny, or Blue, or Hound would trade you..." Sideswipe turned the blue mech onto his back, and straddled him.

"Sides you know no one would cover my shift on such short notice... I have to..."

"Hmmm..." Sideswipe pouted.

Mirage kissed his bond mate chastely on the lips. Sideswipe brushed his glossa against his partner's lip components to try and deepen the kiss, but pulled away in disgust. Mirage didn't taste smooth and metallic like usual. Instead he tasted bitter. "Wax? Yuck! Who waxes right before they go on patrol?"

"It was past time. My dermal plating..."

"Yeesh. You're starting to sound like Sunstreaker. But yeah, icky gross wax is the first thing I really wanna taste in the morning. Get outta here," he jeered playfully unpinning his bond mate.


	6. 67 Snow

Prompt 67-Snow

**AN: **Totally inspired by all the snow we got last night. Playing in it this morning was so much fun!

"What is it? My processors say it's water but..." Mirage asked. His optics were glued to the sky, transfixed on the fluffy white flakes that were falling to the ground.

"It's water. It's just frozen," Sideswipe replied. While they recharged, Oregon was covered in a thick blanket of sparkling white snow. Even now it continued to fall dusting the shoulders and helms of both mechs.

Mirage opened his mouth and caught a snowflake on his glossa. "So it is..." he murmured tasting the frozen droplet. "What are we going to do? We can't really drive in this..." As if to emphasize his statement he took a step forward, and nearly slipped in a patch of ice.

"No, but we don't have to," he replied catching Mirage by the elbow and holding him steady. "We can do all kinds of stuff with this...stuff." The Lamborghini bent down, cupped his hands, and scooped up a large hand full of snow. He compressed it in his hands forming a ball.

* * *

Mirage pat the mound of show he was currently working with, and scooped more snow into his hands. He added that snow pile and began to shape the snow. "Sideswipe, come look. I'm finished! It's not very good but..." Mirage stood up from the frozen ground and brushed white flakes from his amour.

"Nice," Sideswipe replied wrapping his arms around Mirage's shoulders. In front of him was a large sphere of snow with various intricate crevices and peaks. For being made of frozen water crystals, it was a fairly accurate model of Cybertron. He'd even formed a few other half-spheres to represent Cybertron's moons. "I finished another one too." He spun his bond mate around.

Over the course of the morning the pair had built many snow sculptures. There was a likeness of Red Alert propped right in front of a security camera. There were the remains of a snow seeker that Sideswipe had toppled, and a crude three-dimensional Autobot symbol.

But Sideswipe's latest snow creation amazed Mirage. Two white show mechs faced each other. Both were bent at the waist leaning in for a kiss. One had a rounded helm, a slender form, and a mini rocket launcher. The other had a square helm and his own rocket launcher made of snow. "Sideswipe...They're so...Cute."


	7. 47 Heart

Prompt 47-Heart

**A/N **My Valentines gift to me...a first person fic. Am I pushing it with such a romantic interpretation of Sideswipe? I promise, variety forthcoming...

Sometimes, I just don't understand Sideswipe. We've been bonded for vorns, but there are still things I can't figure out about him. He'll do things...and I'll have no idea why or how.

I've gotten used to his rash over the top way of doing things. In fact, it's kind of a turn on. I'm used to his brutal nature on the battlefield, and I've grown accustomed to his mischievous nature. Even after being with him for so long, he's still able to catch me completely off guard.

Like today. It's another one of those bitter cold days in Oregon. The wind is cutting and bitter cold. Grey clouds consume the sky and threaten snow. As far as I know it is another ordinary day on this forsaken planet. I'm cold, I'm tired, and I want nothing more than to curl up and recharge.

However, when I get home from patrol duty my bond mate indicates otherwise. The Nintendo is tucked away, and the television is off. Sunstreaker and Bluestreak have vacated our quarters. Sideswipe has no intention of raising hell with his brother elsewhere on the Ark either. The room has been tidied, and the human scents of spices are everywhere. Needless to say the sudden changes make me a bit nervous.

"Sideswipe?"

"Hey Raji." He gets up from a lounging position on the berth and hugs me. He skips the familiar kiss on the mouth and goes right for the junction where my neck meets my shoulder. Everything after that is still a bit of mystery to me.

He starts off by pulling me into the berth with him. He explains, "Today's an Earth holiday. Spike told me about it..." I don't understand. He's never really been into Earth culture. "It's for lovers." Then he informs me that since we haven't been able to spend much time together, he wanted to celebrate. "This is gonna be fun Raji. I got candles..." He gestures to a few flaming wax objects. "And energon, and..."

The celebration starts off with him presenting me with an odd little trinket. Crumpled red paper cut in an odd shape with ruffed white paper surrounding it. It looks like it had something written on it, but the words have been covered up with gold glitter. "I kinda messed up," Sideswipe explains.

After that we share cubes of high-grade. I don't know where he could've gotten it, because I haven't had high-grade that good since we left Cybertron. It was real high grade, not that cheap ninety-two octane stuff we've been getting on earth. It's a light pink, and naturally warm, just like high-grade should be.

Feeling dazed from the high-grade, and because he was being so affectionate, I can't help but pull him closer, touch him, or kiss him. All of a sudden the berth feels too small, and I want to move. "Put some music on...I want to dance." He puts on an old Cybertronian waltz that's been pulled from a databank and copied onto an Earth cassette. The sound quality isn't superb, but the melody is beautiful, and it reminds me of home.

Our movements are soft and graceful. His arms are wrapped around my waist, and my arms are wrapped around his neck. My head is resting on his chest plate. Our feet hit the floor with a soft thud in time with the music. "Primus...This takes me back Raji."

"Yeah...An empty towers apartment...two mechs that barely know each other...and one that can't dance to save his life..."

"But I'm way better now than I used to be..."

"Uh-huh," The gentle sway of our bodies...The energon pulsing through my systems, it makes my whole body warm and gives it a certain glow that only Sideswipe and I can see. I'm deliciously intoxicated. The energon is affecting Sideswipe too. Together our movements become sluggish and clunky.

When the tape reaches its end, neither of us go to the stereo to flip it over or rewind it. Instead we fall onto the berth. Everything is slow and languid our actions, our reactions, our processing, foreplay, lovemaking. My lips are pressed to his, then his neck, then his chest plate. His fingers ghost everywhere, and my touches mirror his. The sound of his moans...and my own I suppose...fill the room. They're the only sounds that reach our audios.

We touch and tease each other for what feels like vorns, but it really couldn't have been more than several breems. Sideswipe flexes his energy field against my own. At first it tingles, then the crackling fields mingle. It feels so wonderful. Finally, in a quick burst of sparkling burst of energy, Sideswipe's stronger field engulfs mine. He's inside of me, overwhelming me. I can feel him everywhere from my processor to my fuel pump. It tickles, stings, and feels pleasurable all at the same time.

Somewhere in the midst of all this, he finds my interface cable. He connects us together through my cable, and again through his own. When overload finally comes it's sweet and lingering.

It's odd. I thought today was just like any other day on this insignificant planet. I assumed it would be another day of watching for Decepticon activity, and keeping my bond mate out of the brig. Once again my bond mate has proven me wrong. I don't understand this Earth holiday. It's centered on a human religious leader who secretly bonded human couples. It also has something to do with the human anatomy. Sideswipe mentioned that they trade likenesses of their organs to show their affection.

I don't get his surprise or this holiday. But I don't have to understand it to like it.


	8. 75 Shade

Prompt 75-Shade

**A/N:** A Sunny-centric piece. Hurrah for diversity! Hints of tasty Lambo sammich?

He added a bit of indigo to the blue paint on his palette. He had to get just the right shade of blue to match his model's armor. The shade of red he had was fine. It matched perfectly with Sideswipe's bright crimson paintjob. It was Mirage's infernal royal blue that was giving him trouble. He was a bit darker than a cobalt blue...He added a bit of royal blue to the mixture, and it finally yielded an accurate shade.

"So help me Primus...If either of you move I swear I'm going to..." Sunstreaker threatened the pair of intertwined mechs before him. In the middle of his studio, his brother sat staring at Mirage, who sat contentedly in his lap. They stared at each other with a fiery passion. Their lip plates mere centimeters from one another, about to kiss. Even from across the room he could hear their harsh ragged breathing. Their arms linked around each other's necks or shoulders. He'd positioned them so neither their abdomens nor their chest plates touched. There was so much tension between them; he swore he could almost see the static building between them. The lust and raw emotion between them was so intense. He had to capture it on canvas.

"_Relax Sunny, we're not going to screw up you're painting." _Sideswipe said through their bond.

"_Hmmph. Just hold still a klik or two longer."_

He expertly painted Sideswipe's angular jaw and the smooth curve of Mirage's helm. Sunstreaker's hands worked furiously trying to capture the mechs on canvas as fast as he could, because he knew the moment either of them lurched forward, and their lips touched the image would be ruined. The sexual tension between them would lessen just a bit, or they'd come out of their over energized haze and realize just what they were doing.

He finished the likenesses of his brother and Mirage, and he began to add the smaller details like background and shadowing. "Hey, I'm pretty much finished. You two can go do whatever you want. Just not in here."

"_Come on Sunny. Everybody knows what you do with your models after you've painted them in compromising positions..."_


	9. 76 Who

Prompt 76-Who

"You are going to attend right?" Tracks asked absentmindedly. Sprawled on a tarpaulin and applying wax, he was far too busy checking his dermal plating for scratches to really concentrate on the conversation.

"Going to what?" Mirage asked in a distracted tone. Tracks babbled for breems at a time about trivial things like polish, the condition of his dermal plating, and his endless slew of lovers. His most recent was temperamental artist. Mirage had to tune him out or risk losing his sanity.

"Hmph, if you stopped playing your brutish games for one klik and actually paid attention for once..."

"I have no idea what you're talking about...Ah, there she is..." Mirage watched a turbo fox dart from underneath a pile of ruble. He raised his rifle, aimed it straight at the turbo fox, and pulled the trigger. "Yes!" he cried watching the shot connect with its target, and the fox fell to the ground.

"Or gave yourself a good polish. All these barbaric activities are taking a toll on your appearance."

"Polish?" he laughed knowing just what Tracks really liked to do with hot wax. "Tracks if I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to get underneath my plating."

"Why I never! Look, are you coming to Sunstreaker's party or not?" Tracks sulked.

"Party?" Mirage asked daftly, walking toward the fallen turbo fox.

"Yes, Sunstreaker's gallery is opening tomorrow. It's a very big deal! His brother Sideswipe is throwing him a party to celebrate its grand opening."

"Who?"


	10. 57 Lunch

Prompt 57-Lunch

**A/N** If anyone reading is a huge chemistry buff I'm in big trouble.

"Just try some Raji...You'll...like it?" Sideswipe pleaded with his bond mate.

"Not if it were the last drop of energon in the universe." The blue mech protested.

"C'mon. This is me and Sunny's first batch of homebrew. We gotta know if it works." In his arms Sideswipe held a large cauldron of what he called energon. "Just pretend it's high-grade." Sideswipe held a ladle to his mate's clamped lips.

"High-grade? I'm sure there's exhaust that tastes better than that." Mirage held a hand over his mouth to avoid consuming the putrid substance. The "energon" was a murky gray color instead of the normal sparkling tint most energon held. It smelled horrible, and small billowing streams of smoke were pouring off the surface of the horrendous substance. It was smoking!

"Just what's in that concoction of yours?" Mirage asked cautiously through parted fingers.

"Nothing much. Just some gasoline, some oil, the insides of both lithium and alkaline batteries, oh and a couple of umm...a few unstable isotopes of Polonium might have snuck in, along with a pinch of Uranium ore..."

"Sideswipe what the frag? Get that out of here. What if it explodes?"

"Already has babe. This is just the sweet, sweet product. Now just give this a swig..." Sideswipe maneuvered the ladle closer to his bond mate's mouth. Mirage ducked causing the Lamborghini to spill the spoon's contents.

"Sideswipe!" Mirage's face contorted into a look of horror as the mixture completely dissolved a hole in the floor below them.

"Pssh. That just proves it'll get 'ya drunk fast. Our fuel pumps can handle just about anything."

"I don't see you or Sunstreaker rushing to try it. You're not pushing it on Blue, Blaster, or Jazz either. Why me?"

"Cause up until about three kliks ago you were the only one who hadn't said no. Look I'll prove it's not that bad." Sideswipe dipped the ladle back into the cauldron and procured another large spoonful of energon. Never one to openly admit defeat to his bonded, he downed the mixture in one triumphant swallow.

He spent the next few kliks coughing and sputtering. "Burns..." he commented patting his chest plate. "Puts rust on your chest plate." He interrupted himself with another coughing spell. "Damn good stuff..."

The red Lamborghini dropped to his knees and clutched his abdomen. "Ohh Raji...That's got a nasty after taste..."

Mirage shook his head. His bond mate was notorious for doing anything to prove a point, but this was ridiculous. "Come on 'Sides." He extended a hand to the red twin. "Let's get you to Ratchet."


	11. 15 Blue

Prompt 15-Blue

**A/N: **So I conveniently forgot they could probably turn down the volume on their audios. Focus instead on the Bluestreak/Sunstreaker interaction?

"If you'd just take a minute and listen to me you boorish..." Their room was on the completely opposite end of the hallway, but Mirage and Sideswipe still heard every single interaction between Sunstreaker and Tracks. They were forced to listen to every fight, every conversation, and every make up.

"They could at least turn down the volume on their vocalizers," Mirage complained. His hand tucked behind his head, and he stared at the ceiling in frustration.

"Egotistical son of a glitch," Sunstreaker growled from down the hallway.

"Focusing on yourself again I see." Their argument seemed to reverberate through the entire dwelling.

Sideswipe let out an exasperated sigh. "Four fragging Groons." He shifted against his lover resting his head on Mirage's chest plate. "And they still won't shut the frag up," he murmured reaching up to caress the exposed cables in his lover's neck. "Since neither of us can recharge, maybe we could make some noise of our own?" His hand trailed down the other's body.

"Sideswipe I'm tired. Maybe you could tell them to..."

"No way. I'm not getting anywhere near that."

"He's your brother...Wait do you hear that?" The argument had ceased for a moment.

But it was interrupted by a sudden cry of, "Uhhhn. Sun-streaker. You're going leave scratches," and the sharp steady clang of metal against metal.

"Primus! They can't be serious," Mirage complained.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll knock themselves offline the first time 'round," Sideswipe chuckled.

"So, this is home..." Mirage stepped through the door and into their dwelling. "And yours too now." He smiled painfully at the mech who followed him into the room. Only a few Orns ago Bluestreak's hometown was attacked. His little village outside Iacon was obliterated, and Bluestreak was rumored to be the only survivor.

He was a merchant like Sideswipe. The pair had worked together on many business deals, and eventually a close friendship emerged. When he had nowhere to go naturally, Sideswipe insisted he stay with them.

Mirage didn't mind. Bluestreak was laid back, and he was sure to be a gracious houseguest. He only wished he knew how to address the poor little mech. He didn't want to seem cold and pretend like nothing happened. He'd lost everything. But he didn't want to drown him in pity either.

Upon entering the dwelling they could hear the muffled sound of arguing. Tracks and Sunstreaker were at it again. "I'll let you get settled in before I show you around. Your room is at the end of the hall let me show you." Mirage directed the young merchant away from the sounds of the argument and towards the room they'd prepared for him.

"Okay...Thanks for letting me stay with you Mirage."

"It's no problem Bluestreak."

The next few Orns passed with little incident. Sunstreaker and Tracks fought and forgave one another at an alarming rate. Mirage and Sideswipe tried to keep the vain mechs from killing one another while simultaneously trying to keep a cautious optic on Bluestreak. Bluestreak however, remained almost completely silent through the ordeal. He never complained of Tracks and Sunstreaker's constant fighting. He didn't mention what happened to him, or speak unless it was absolutely necessary.

"We've been together for over one hundred vorn Sunstreaker. I'm not one of your little models you paint with their interface ports exposed. I'm not going to take whatever ravishing you're willing to give and be grateful," Tracks yelled with frustration in his voice.

"I'm not looking for a bond mate Tracks," Sunstreaker replied in an irritated tone.

"You're not looking to bond with me you mean. You want someone who's absolutely enthralled with you. Someone who worships you! You want-"

"I don't want to be with anyone who thinks they can control me using interface." His rattling voice seemed to pierce the walls of his room and shake the entire dwelling. Physical attraction had been their downfall from the beginning. Outside of the berth they barely functioned as a couple. They could never agree, and they could never seem to communicate with one another. Somehow all of that seemed to disappear when gold lips met blue, or the wanton mech posed minus his armor in Sunstreaker's studio.

"You're impossible. I'm not trying to control you. I want to be closer to you. Primus if you don't get that by now...then I can't do this anymore."

It was too quiet once everyone went offline. Gone were the sounds of Sideswipe and Mirage's playful banter and soft conversations. Ever since Sunstreaker and his lover separated the sound of arguing was gone. Whenever Sideswipe asked him if he wanted to talk he felt he had no choice but refuse. It simply wasn't his problem. He felt he had to hold his glossa lest he drown his hosts in his every thought.

He stared blankly at the ceiling or the walls desperately trying to recharge. The soft blue glow of his online optics was the only light in the dark room. The silence was deafening. The silence forced him to think about what happened the ambush, and the carnage left in its wake. It forced him to remember the charred burnt hulls of his friends. Images of the leveled city played through his processor over and over. The silence threatened to consume him.

Bluestreak tossed and turned on his berth. Nothing felt comfortable. Whatever position he lay in hurt his door wings, or he just had to move because he felt restless. _"I've got to get out of here," _he thought to himself.

Sunstreaker lay on his berth wide-awake. Usually Tracks was there to act as a carnal sleep aid to wear him down and knock him offline. Tonight like the past few nights, he lay in the berth alone waiting for his systems to finally power down and drift online.

While he waited for sleep his processors replayed every argument with Tracks in his mind. Tracks wanted to share his life with him, and he did nothing but scorn him. Maybe Tracks was right. Maybe he was nothing more than an unloving monster.

But Tracks wanted absolute control of their relationship. He was beautiful, and he fully intended to use that as a weapon against anyone he was with. "Frag this," he growled pounding his fist into the berth.

Bluestreak stood on the dwelling's balcony that overlooked Iacon. He leaned on the railing, rested his chin in his palm, and stared at the city's brilliant lights. "Can't recharge either?" Bluestreak's flitted in surprise. He turned and noticed Sunstreaker had joined him on the balcony. He shook his head from side to side nodding, "No,"

"Is your vocalizer on the fritz or something?"

He nodded another, "No,"

"Then why don't you say something?"

Sunstreaker was asking him to talk? He seemed so irritable, almost violent. Not the type to invite conversation. "If I start talking I'm afraid I won't be able to stop. I'm afraid I'll get on your nerves, and then Sideswipe won't want me here anymore and..."

"Sideswipe wouldn't put you out for talking." The gray mech nodded acknowledging Sunstreaker.

"It's too quiet here. You'd think there would be more noise from the city. I really, really hate the quiet."

"Makes you think about all the slag you don't wanna think about doesn't it?" Sunstreaker replied.

"Yeah. It feels like I have the weight of Cybertron on my chest plate. If I talk about it I'm annoying, and I have to deal with it. If I hold it in it drives me crazy. I hate that feeling. I hate the silence." The gray mech's voice cracked. "I'm sorry. It's not your problem."

"It's fine. It kind of puts all my slagging issues in perspective."

"I hate the Decepticons. I hate what they did to my friends and my town. What gives them the right to decide who lives and who dies?" He grasped the metal railing of the balcony, and it crumpled in his grasp.

Bluestreak hated the silence. He hated the silence that settled between himself and Sunstreaker when he'd finished speaking. But the golden arm that awkwardly draped over his door wings almost made the silence tolerable.

"I know everybody just thinks high-grade is delicious, but the low grade stuff...I mean I know it clogs up your engine and is really bad for you, but it tastes so good! It's not my favorite though. Oil cake is my favorite. I don't mean to brag, but I can make a really good oil cake. Maybe I could make it for you sometime?"

"Sounds good."

"Good maybe you can drive with me to the bazaar tomorrow so I can get all the stuff I need? I'll need a bunch of oil, some rust, a bit of lithium for flavor..."

"Oh Primus! Are they ever going to shut up?" Mirage thumped his head on the metal surface of the berth in frustration. Sunstreaker, oddly enough, tolerated Bluestreak's company. They'd spent the spent the past few Orns doing nothing but talk constantly. Well, Bluestreak babbled, and Sunstreaker tired to listen best he could. Even in the late hours of the night Bluestreak prattled on, and Sunstreaker didn't seem to mind.

"Heh no rest for the wicked huh?" Sideswipe jeered.

"I want a good recharge. You wore me out." The blue mech rested his helm in the crook of Sideswipe's shoulder and nuzzled him.

"They're good for each other Raji. Blue's got someone to help him deal with his problems, and Sunny has who makes him happy. I think. He hasn't threatened or snapped at him yet. That's a good sign."

"Hmmmph," Mirage replied drowsily.

"You know what else sounds good?"

There was a brief moment of silence from the living room followed by a muffled moan. "Are you sure Sunstreaker? I mean you just ended things with your lover. But I'm not saying I don't want to..."

"Sides are we ever going to get to recharge again?"


	12. 20 Colorless

Prompt 20-Colorless

**A/N:** Why can't I write a really descriptive sex scene? Takes place after the episode, "Traitor" and is technically a sequel to a prompt I haven't written yet. I'm borrowing the electro disrupter from Classics Mirage. Okamichan, VAwitch, and everyone else who's reading and reviewing, thanks so much! You gals are awesome!

"_Fragging slag sucker got what he deserved,"_ he answered when Ironhide apprehended him. Prowl didn't have to read him the list of Cliffjumper's injuries. He knew exactly what he was doing when he pulverized the loudmouthed minibot, but nobody talked slag about his bond mate.

"Frag this!" Sideswipe sighed shifting and contorting his hands trying to break free of the energy cuffs that bound his wrists. Electric bars separated him from the outside world. The singular lens of a camera panned back and fourth from one end of his cell to the other. He leaned back against the smooth wall of the cell. Furiously etched profanities, and dents adorned the cell walls. He was in the brig so often, it seemed like this cell was his own.

He heard the phantom noise of footsteps in the distance and turned up the volume on his audios. It was soft, almost inaudible, but deliberate and there. The whisper of intakes, the soft purr of an engine, and the sound of feet softly meeting the floor, the noises were so subtle a mech normally wouldn't have heard them. After thousands of vorns he'd honed his skill, and he could always hear his lover.

"_It's about time."_ Sideswipe pulsed through the bond when the footsteps ceased. Most mechs would believe they were alone, but Sideswipe knew his lover better than that.

"_I was...detained." _Electricity crackled across the surveillance camera short circuiting it. The prison bars were next crackling and vanishing in thin air. He loved his bond mate's electro disrupter. _"Its like Red Alert isn't even trying anymore."_

The only indication of another mech in the cell was the ghostly touch of fingers drifting over his chassis. _"Sideswipe, you didn't have to do that." _Unseen lips brushed against his.

"_Yes I did." _He moaned against Mirage as the kiss deepened. _"No one runs their vocalizer about you. He accused you of treason..." _

"_I need you more than I need my reputation."_ The electric sting left his wrists, and the cuffs were deactivated. Mirage guided Sideswipe to the floor. The red warrior's hands were everywhere trying to find a sensitive place on his invisible lover's form. Mirage caught the charcoal hands in his own and kissed the warrior's knuckles. "Let me take care of you Sideswipe. Let me take care of you like you take care of me." It was the first spoken words between them since Mirage entered the cell. Husky, deep, and full of need, Mirage's voice sent shivers through Sideswipe's chassis.

Mirage's fingers roamed everywhere, Sideswipe's wheel wells, the soft rubber of his tires, and the sensitive wires and circuits beneath gaps in his armor. He kissed him with a furious violent passion, and attacked the exposed wires in Sideswipe's neck. He tweaked every node and sensor until Sideswipe's body trembled with pleasure.

Finally they plugged into one another. The data feed was intense and needy. _"I hate it so much when you're in here. It hurts so much when we're apart..." _Mirage sent a strong surge in data. Sideswipe bit his lip and arched his back. He reached overload sending Mirage into his own.

"I'm sorry. I have to leave now," Mirage whispered into his lover's audio when the static had cleared.

Sideswipe mumbled something incomprehensible and grasped for the nearest surface of his lover's body he could find.

"_Ouch! Sideswipe, I'm serious. I'm being sent on a mission." _Mirage swatted at the hand that was currently crushing his arm.

"Already?"

Mirage laughed bitterly. "Seaspray and I are going on a scouting mission to the Nemesis, but don't worry. I'll be back and in the med bay by the time you get out of here,"

The invisible mech pulled his bond mate close and kissed him passionately. He reattached the energy cuffs, and left the cell. Then he reactivated the cell bars and the camera leaving the brig without a trace of his intrusion.

"Frag this," Sideswipe cursed under his breath.


	13. 86 Choices

Prompt 86-Choices

**A/N:** With a blatant disregard for any sort of chronological order we go from Ark times in the last chappie to very, very pre war.

"Sideswipe," She kisses me on the helm and wraps her pretty little green hands around my own. I can't even bring my gaze to meet hers. The guilt is probably plastered all across my face, but she won't notice. And that's the problem.

It's not her fault. The fluttering kisses, overheating systems, me and him sprawled on the floor nothing that happened in the parlor was her fault. Except, I can't get him out of my processors. I mean I couldn't get him out of my processors before but...

But it's not her fault. She's given me everything and then some. Even though she's never said it, I think she loves me. It's this certain look she gets in her optics...

That shouldn't matter to me. Mechs have fallen for me before, but I've always been able to brush it off like it was nothing. I've never really cared about the other mechs feelings, but I really don't want to break her spark.

If I don't end things with her, I'll only hurt her more. Every waking moment I think about being with him again. I don't want just another heated tryst. I want him again, and again, and again. When I'm around him its like my spark is on fire, and I can never be close enough. Having an affair will hurt her more than ending things now.

I finally am able to bring myself to meet her gaze. "Moonracer. We need to talk."


	14. 82 If

Prompt 82-If

**A/N: ** One of the first prompts I actually completed. I'm not crazy about it, but it kind of works as a lead into a storyline I'm doing. Also, InzanityRulz thanks for r ring. You really need to get an account on this slag continues, I don't know what we're gonna do." Sideswipe lounged in his oversized desk chair, arms crossed and legs propped on his cluttered desk. The red mech stared wistfully into a sparkling cube of energon.

Mirage glanced out of a set of giant windows formed of Plexiglas. Outside he could see the shadows of the city. Usually the whole city would be illuminated instead, it was completely dark and lifeless. Cutting off power was the Decepticon's latest form of attack. "The senate will stop this. It will just take a little time."

"I thought that too at first but, we can't just sit idle and watch all this fighting continue," Sideswipe replied.

"The Autobots won't bother us, and if we keep bribing the Decepticons..." The Decepticons tried to persuade Sideswipe to join them by force, but they were quieted with the right amount of energon cubes.

"I'm not doing that anymore Mirage. I did it to buy us some time, so we wouldn't have to choose sides right then and there. But they keep asking for more and more. What happens when we can't afford their demands anymore? They'll come after us...They'll kill us."

Mirage shuddered watching a meteor, or a deadly missile—he couldn't tell which, zoom across the sky.

"If we stay we're going to have to choose a side eventually." Sideswipe paused to take a sip of his energon cube. "The Autobots seem to be more sympathetic to our views, but we're already loosely tied to the Decepticons. Really, we should leave Cybertron."

"Sideswipe," Mirage murmured. He turned from the window and moved towards his bond mate. "I don't want to leave..."

Sideswipe moved from the desk and joined Mirage at the window. He wrapped his arms around his lover and nuzzled his neck. "Why can't you fix this like all our other problems? Why can't you make all this disappear?"

"Raji," Sideswipe tilted Mirage's helm and gave him a peck on the cheek. "If I could, I would.


	15. 80 Why

Prompt 80-Why. Part deux of this storyline thingy.

"_Sideswipe hold on!"_ Mirage cried through their bond. Easier said than done. He was looking death in the face, and death was a huge tentacle clad mech. The creature wore an enormous purple Decepticon symbol, and stared at him through one garish optic. Tentacles wrapped firmly around his arms and legs. No matter how much he fought he remained immobile. He heard the familiar shot of Bluestreak's gun, followed by sparks exploding against the creature's dermal plating.

Sideswipe shifted, kicked, and pushed against the tentacles. His dermal plating ached from the struggle. Despite his fight the creature held him firm in its grasp. The bonds crumpled his armor and dug into the seams. "Save your own afts!" he called, but the shots continued. From the corner of his optic he could see a flash of yellow charge toward the beast, followed by the sound of thrashing metal.

Another tentacle wrapped around his helm, and the sound of crumpling metal and his own screams filled his audios. The machine's laser scalpel met with his processors, and everything went dark.

Red. It was the only color he could see when he came back online. The skyline was red. The city lights of Iacon were red. He held his charcoal colored hand to his optics, and it looked red. His intakes hitched with fear. "What's wrong with me?" The worried face of his bond mate appeared in his field of vision. Red. His beautiful blue Mirage was reduced to various shades of red.

Mirage cradled his injured helm in his hands. "It's okay now 'Sides. Sunny deactivated that thing." At least that's what he thought he said. He couldn't quite hear the words. They were muffled and unclear, like his helm was under water.

"Sides? Sides? Say something! What's wrong with his optics? Sideswipe?" He couldn't see the mech, couldn't even distinguish his voice, but he knew it was Bluestreak.

"Hey slagger cut it out." Sunstreaker tilted his chin so he was optic to optic with his twin. From the corner of his optic he could see numerous dents covering his brother's dermal plating.

He tried to move his arm to reach out for his bond mate, but the limb remained immobile. He tried to say something, but the only sound he could emit was a strangled moan.

Suddenly, a strong jolt of electricity coursed through his body and over his dermal plating. The pulse was so strong it sent Mirage reeling backwards. His body was reanimated with new life, and an unexplained anger rested inside of him. It seemed to melt through his spark casing and consume him. It was as if hate had been poured into his fuel lines and now it churned through his entire body.

His optics returned to his bond mate. This was not his lover. No, this was the enemy. Before the blue mech had the chance to react, he lunged at Mirage. He watched his lover's optics widen in horror, but he couldn't stop himself. His hands locked onto the blue mech's neck and crushed the internal intakes housed there. It seemed like one part of his processors told him to, _"Kill," _or _"Destroy," _and another part of him asked,_ "What am I doing?"_ Fist after fist pummeled Mirage leaving deep depressions in his armor. _"Why? Stop! He's your bond mate Stop!" _But he continued to strike the mech he loved.

"_Sideswipe! It's me. Stop!" _

"I can't stop myself...Fight back you glitch," he grunted through clenched dental plates.

He was vaguely aware of other hands trying to pry him off of Mirage. His tormented processors couldn't decide if it were a blessing or a curse.

A bright yellow fist connected with his jaw knocking him off Mirage. "What the slag's gotten into you?"

Against his own will he rose from the ground and charged at his brother. _"That thing...can't control myself." _The red twin continued to charge inching closer and closer to his twin, and a fist connected to Sunstreaker's cheek. _"Knock me out before I hurt you too." _

Sunstreaker clenched his hands into deadly fists. "I don't want to do this Sides..."


	16. 77 What

Prompt 77-What

**AN: **So sorry this has taken so long to update. I've had monitor woes for the past few days. Everything is fixed now...I guess...

"There's no way in the pit we're trusting Sideswipe with them."

"No other medics know what this is or how to treat it. They have teams of scientists who can help."

"I don't trust them. Who knows that kind of messed up experiments they'd do. I'm not handing my brother over to them. They'll just reprogram him and make him into something far worse."

Mirage's hands curled into fists, and he gritted his dental plates with rage. Sunstreaker had good intentions, but his stubbornness wasn't helping Sideswipe. "And I'm not letting my bond mate die! Swallow your damned pride for one klik and..."

"You need to stop fighting and do what's best for Sideswipe...I don't think they'd do anything to hurt him, but we don't have a choice his internal temperature keeps rising and he's dripping energon everywhere..."

* * *

"I'm sorry, but we cannot treat him." 

"Why...Why not? He's leaking energon, he's overheating, he's dying! That thing reprogrammed him and," Mirage's voice cracked as he pleaded with the medic. "We can pay you we have energon," He held Sideswipe's unconscious form in his arms. His knees wobbled and his arms ached from his burden, but he continued to cradle Sideswipe in his arms.

Energon dripped from the wounds inflicted by the reprogramming device. There were large dents and scratches on his armor. His optics were cracked and dimmed. He'd never seen his bond mate look so helpless before, and it terrified him.

"We can no longer treat neutrals. We have no way of knowing if you're Decepticon insurgents. You shouldn't even be in the complex. I'm sorry."

"What the slag do you mean? You're sorry? He's my brother. I'm not just going to let him die."

"We have all suffered losses during this war," the medic spoke calmly.

"Losses?" Sunstreaker snatched the smaller mech up by his helm and brought him up to optic level. The rest of the mechs body dangled limply in the air.

"Sunstreaker!" Bluestreak pleaded tugging on the yellow twin's shoulder. "This isn't going to help Sideswipe at all."

"Either you treat my brother, or he won't be the only dying mech here." He dropped the mech he held suspended in the air, and he fell with a loud clang.

"I simply cannot fix him. You can threaten me all you want it won't change that." The cowering mech cried.

"Wait. You can't treat neutrals," Mirage paused and looked at his bond mate once more. "If we weren't neutrals anymore. If we were Autobots like you, you'd have to treat him. Wouldn't you?"

* * *

"I've done everything I could possibly do." The Autobot scientist wiped energon off of his fingers.

"But Sideswipe's okay?" Mirage asked hopefully. The last few cycles had been hell. His lover had been reprogrammed. They'd been forced finally choose a side in this Primus forsaken war. Now his bond mate's life was in the hands of an Autobot scientist named Perceptor.

"Sides?" he whispered to his offline bond mate. The red mech lay motionless in a recharge berth. His optics were dimmed, and multiple tubes and wired connected him to monitoring devices.

"He's still unconscious. We had to reboot his entire systems. He won't be online for some time. Your friend was attacked by a Decepticon reprogramming device known as the Robo-Smasher. It infects the captured mechanization's systems with Decepticon programming. Under most circumstances the effects are permanent."

"What are you saying?" Sunstreaker growled.

"We recently developed a way to combat the Robo-Smasher's effects," Perceptor continued. "It is called a Dominator Disk, and it overrides the Smasher's malicious programming. However, there are consequences to using the disk. The Smasher's coding is too strong to override completely, so there will always be remains of the violent programming in his system." Perceptor glanced at a data chart. "However, his systems should return to normal when he wakes. If you'll excuse me..."

"Sideswipe." Mirage approached the berth where his bond mate lay and knelt. Woefully he glanced at the bright red Autobot symbol that had recently been painted onto his chassis. He placed a gentile kiss on the offline mech's cheek. "As long as you're alright, I don't care."


	17. 11 Red

Prompt 11-Red

"What the frag is that?" He noticed the red mark on his lover's chest plate instantly. The tattoo stared at him in an indifferent, almost mocking way.

When his bond mate offered no reply, he sprang up from the recharge berth and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Tell me that isn't what I think it is," his voice full of panic and rage.

"Sideswipe," The red mech's grip tightened causing the metal to crumple beneath his touch. For a moment he thought of Perceptor's diagnosis. "We didn't have a choice. You would've died if you didn't get help. They wouldn't treat neutrals. We had to."

"Frag Mirage!" He released the blue mech pushing him away. "Why? Do you realize..."

"I'm fully aware of the consequences, and I know that if the roles were reversed you'd do the same thing," he replied calmly.

"We had options. We could've left Cybertron, or you could have bribed them, or-"

"What if we didn't do it Sideswipe?" Mirage's voice rose slightly. "What if we'd just let the Decepticons override you systems? You wouldn't be yourself anymore." He took a step towards Sideswipe and caressed his cheek. Sideswipe stared back at him with indifferent optics. "I'd rather die then let something like that happen. Bluestreak didn't want that to happen. And your brother would never let that happen."

* * *

The paint was sprayed onto his chassis with an unexpected evenness and finesse. It was cold when it hit the bare metal of his chassis. Cold, like the feeling in his spark. This mark meant everything. It meant alliance, an alliance he didn't want to make. It symbolized allegiance and loyalty to a cause he didn't give damn about. This mark tied him to a side in this war, and it was final. He'd be answering to someone else, and he wouldn't be in charge of his own fate. He hated that feeling.

* * *

In the still darkness of the recharge cycle the barrack was anything but silent. Every little noise was audible from the soft whoosh of air entering the other soldier's intakes to the sound of tossing and turning on the bunks. Occasionally a sleep talker's words pierced the noise.

Sideswipe climbed into the strange berth he'd been assigned to, and found his bond mate already occupying the space. He wrapped his arms around Mirage, and the blue mech stiffened against his touch. Above them Sunstreaker and Bluestreak shared a bunk. On either side of them the barrack was filled with bunk after bunk of strange mechs.

Sideswipe turned his bond mate over so they lay face to face. The only light in the barrack came from his dimly lit optics, and they cast an eerie glow on Mirage's chassis. He stared at the patch of red on Mirage's dermal plating. It scarred him, marred his lithe and perfect form. He could survive in this war, but Mirage...

He slowly traced the mark on Mirage's chest. Then he cautiously touched his lips to it. "Sorry," he whispered against his bond mate's chest plate. The only thing he hated more than the red mark on his chassis, was the mark that adorned his lover's.


	18. 97 Writer's Choice: Mr Clean

Prompt 97-Writer's Choice: Mr. Clean

Mirage knelt at the end of his berth, and furrowed his optic ridges in concentration. Up, down, side-to-side, he scrubbed furiously with the sponge in his hand. He only stopped occasionally to douse the berth with more disinfectant. _"Disgusting. Absolutely vile." _

"What's got your fan belt in a bind?"

"Hm?" Mirage replied curtly. He didn't have to look up to know Sideswipe loomed in the doorway wearing his trademark smug expression.

"What's wrong with you? I could feel you freaking out all the way across the Ark."

Mirage didn't reply concentrating only on his scrubbing.

"What the slag is wrong with you Raji?" he repeated as the blue mech moved on to scrubbing the floor. Mirage liked their quarters to be clean, but this was a little obsessive.

"This," he motioned to the berth, "Is tainted."

"You finally dip into my homebrew or somethin?" Sideswipe sat down on the, "tainted" berth.

"Far worse..."

"What?"

"Your brother and Bluestreak... Not only did they fail to rewrite the room's pass codes, so I got an optic full of ..." He shuddered. "They couldn't even make it to their own berth."

"They did it on our berth? Eww."

Mirage nodded and continued to scrub.

Sideswipe grabbed Mirage's arm halting his fervent cleaning. "So let's get 'em back!" Mirage looked at Sideswipe questioningly. "They do it on our berth, so we do it on theirs."

Mirage looked from his bond mate to the berth opposite their own and back again. He rose from the, "tainted," berth and smiled at his lover. He grabbed Sideswipe's hand and led him to Sunstreaker and Bluestreak's berth. He gave the berth a few quick passes with his sponge, then kissed his lover on the cheek_. "If you think that is a suitable method of revenge..."_


	19. 44 Circle

Prompt 44-Circle

"Here we are again," it was Bluestreak who finally broke the silence.

"Yeah," Mirage replied.

They'd been in the med bay for nearly two orns. Not due to their own injuries, but the injuries of their lovers. Sunstreaker recharged in one berth. Dents and scrapes covered his entire chassis. Wires connected his processors to machines that monitored his vital status. Sideswipe rested in an adjacent berth. Large ugly patch welds spotted his chassis, and his left arm was reduced only to its minimal skeletal form.

"You should get some recharge Blue," he murmured knowing the gray mech was tired.

The pair struggled for words, and they rarely spoke to one another in the med bay. Their energies were always concentrated on their lovers.

"You should get some recharge Mirage," the Datsun retorted bitterly.

"I didn't- I mean...You had patrol, then the attack, and you've been here for cycles."

"You've been here for cycles too Mirage. You know I want to be here for Sunstreaker just as much as you want to be here for Sideswipe." The golden twin stirred in his recharge thrashing his arms and jostling the cables connected to his processors. Bluestreak took Sunstreaker's hands in his own quelling the warrior.

Mirage nodded and tenderly caressed Sideswipe's cheek. "He needs me here. I'm afraid if I'm not here with him, maybe he won't heal."

Bluestreak was unusually quiet. He didn't offer a word in response.

Mirage's optics drifted from Sideswipe's still form to Bluestreak. The Datsun's dimmed then brightened, dimmed then brightened fighting the recharge he so desperately needed. His head bent forward, his optics offlined, and Bluestreak finally slipped into recharge.

Decepticon attack, fighting, injury, worry about their lovers in the med bay, only to repeat the cycle when the twins were fully recovered. Ratchet's constant fussing, never knowing if their lovers would make it out from the med bay, the late nights tending to the twins, it took a toll on their sanity. But they endured it, because they knew Sideswipe and Sunstreaker needed them.


	20. 54 Air

Prompt 54-Air

**AN:** Am I stretching it with the whole TF's breathing thing? Meh. -Goes back to working on ME challenge.-

Breathing. In theory it was a simple enough operation. The intakes cycled in air and from there it mixed with energon in his engines to cause combustion. This enabled all his functions internal and external. Movement, vocalization, and transformation were, at the root, caused by the intake of air.

It was a simple operation, so why couldn't he breathe? A fluttering touch, a brief smile, or a lingering glance was all it took for his intakes to hitch. A caress or a kiss stopped all of his intake functions completely, and left him gasping when he was finally able to regulate his systems again.

He watched the lithe blue mech flit from bot to bot chatting with ease. In his hand a sparkling pink cube of energon sloshed in his hand. On the surface Mirage appeared nervous and unsure of himself. When you got to know him, or he'd downed a cube of energon or two he was quite friendly.

Sideswipe leaned on the wall and watched Mirage from a distance. Occasionally Mirage would give him an inviting glance or smile, but he'd always decline the invitation to join the conversation. Where Mirage was truly in his element, he felt completely out of place. Not to mention he loved the inviting looks his gave him. He heard his partner's deep rumbling laugh and saw his mouth plates morph into a smile. If Primus had a voice he sounded like Mirage. He moved gracefully from mech to mech addressing each one as if they were old friends.

He felt the familiar pause in his intakes, and the burning sensation in his abdomen. He'd gotten lost in that smile again. He'd forgotten to breathe. How did he do it? How could he leave him breathless even when they weren't touching or even talking to each other? Breathing. It was a simple operation in theory, but he just couldn't do it. Mirage just wouldn't let him.

"Mirage," he spoke as he approached the group of mechs talking to his lover. "Mirage," he repeated wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. "I want to leave." He whispered with a certain husky inflection in his voice. His brushed slowly down Mirage's flank, and he gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Oh," Mirage nodded knowingly. "Excuse us."

Once excused from the party Sideswipe pulled Mirage close and gave him a harsh demanding kiss. "You have no idea...all the things I'm going to do to you..." Sideswipe growled nipping at Mirage's neck junction.

When he got done with Mirage he wanted him to be left panting, moaning, breathless and gasping for air. If he couldn't breathe he wanted it to be worth his while, and he wanted Mirage to be in the same position.


	21. 09 Months

Prompt 09-Months

**AN: **Some hints of twincest in this one. Lambo cuddling and the like.

"It just hurts so much..." Sideswipe mumbled into a bright yellow chest plate. 

"I know," Sunstreaker replied staring at the mech curled up at his side on the berth. He was all too familiar with the painful sensation that tugged at his brother's spark. He felt it every time he was away from Sideswipe for a long period of time. He knew the queasy feeling that resided at the bottom of his fuel tank. He knew that time itself seemed to stand still. He knew there was only one thing that kept his brother going, the pulse of the other half's spark. It was the only thing that let him know his bond mate was all right. 

"He's never been gone this long," the red twin sighed. Mirage's function as a spy often kept him away from Sideswipe for long periods of time. He'd been gone for nearly twenty stellar cycles. Only a small lapse of time to most Cybertronians, but for a separated pair of bond mates it felt like eternity. 

"He probably feels the same way when you're out on the front lines." Sunstreaker caressed his twin's dermal plating with a gentleness few mechs would ever know he possessed. With his other hand he massaged the cables in his brother's neck. "Or when you're in the med bay, or right now."

Sideswipe wrapped an arm around his twin and pulled him closer. Then he draped his leg over his brother's. Each touch reaffirmed the bond they shared. Each caress reaffirmed that their lovers would return.

"At least you share a bond with him," Sunstreaker said with a tinge of jealousy in his voice.

"Yeah." Through their bond Sideswipe would always know if Mirage was content, in pain, or afraid. These emotions were intensified through the bond they shared, and Sideswipe would always know whether or not his lover was alive. It was something that Sunstreaker shared with Sideswipe, but he did not share with Bluestreak. "If you bonded with Blue you'd always know..."

A surge of pain coursed through Sideswipe's spark. Mirage felt his pain, he felt Mirage's pain, and it was only amplified through their bond in painful surges. He bit his lip plates and held onto Sunstreaker.

Sunstreaker held onto his brother and shuddered. He too could feel his brother's pain. "Hurting when I'm away from you. Hurting when I'm away from Blue. I couldn't..." he kissed his quivering brother's helm. "If I turned into a huddling pile of scrap every time Blue was away, who'd take care of you?"


	22. 62 Spring

Prompt 62-Spring

Prompt 62-Spring

Sideswipe held him sprawled over his lap, his fingers buried underneath all his plating. With all the noise he was making...Anyone who didn't know what torture he was enduring would've thought...

"Boing,"

The metal coil was rigid, taut, and guarded by a thick bundle of wires. It's usual function was to provide flexibility during transformation. At that moment however, it was being slowly uncoiled then released for no reason other than to amuse a certain Lamborghini.

"_Boing,"_

"Stop it Sides that tickles!" Mirage giggled and flinched against the Lamborghini's touch.

"Hmmm...What have we here?" The Lamborghini's fingers prodded farther underneath Mirage's dermal plating.

"Boing,"

"Do-on't" he wailed. "Stop it!" He managed to elbow Sideswipe in the abdomen.

"Don't stop huh?" Sideswipe readjusted his grip on Mirage trapping him in a headlock. "I wouldn't even begin to consider it." 

"_Boing," _Sideswipe ran the coil through the length of his fingers, and released it once again. 

"You know that would al-_hee_-almost feel nice if you weren't such a..."

"Boing, Boing, Boing," 


	23. 39 Taste

39-Taste

39-Taste

**AN: **Just a short little drabble, substance forthcoming.

Mirage's lips grazed the crimson red chassis before him. The metal plating tasted bitter like paint and wax, and he savored the odd taste. His glossa flitted languidly over an exposed, unpainted patch of metal, a scar from a battle long past. It tasted rough and uneven in comparison to the rest of his lover's plating.

Contact with the exposed metal made the mech beneath him squirm and twitch. An impatient noise escaped Sideswipe's vocalizer, and he tightened his hands around Mirage's waist.

Mirage ignored him running his glossa over the spot on the Lamborghini's midriff where white armor plates jutted into black.

Then Mirage's mouth met the exposed junction in the Lamborghini's neck. Prodding the sensitive wires with his glossa always drove Sideswipe wild. The wires tasted like rubber and dust from the Oregon landscape.

The blue mech's traveled from Sideswipe's neck to his mouth. He nibbled at Sideswipe's lower lip before deepening the kiss. Their glossa intertwined, lapping at the other's mouth and fighting for control. He was deliciously sweet like high-grade and oil.

Bitter, dusty, oily and sweet, this was Sideswipe. The moaning and writhing beneath him only affirmed one thing. Sideswipe was his to tempt, his to savor, his, and his alone.


	24. 34 Not Enough

Prompt 34-Not Enough

Prompt 34-Not Enough

**AN: **So, no real Sides/Raji here besides some brief mentioning...Which is totally not cheating on my claim of Sideswipe/Mirage at all...

Bright yellow hands moved skillfully over his lover's quivering form. Fingers dipped into every gap in the other's armor, and touched every inch of the gray mech's dermal plating. The yellow mech's mouth covered the other's neck, headlights and chevron. He teased his partner's every circuit, and sent stream after stream of data through their connection teasing him to overload.

"I love you," Bluestreak pulsed timidly through their connection. "I love you Sunstreaker," he sighed into his lover's shoulder.

Sunstreaker pulled Bluestreak atop him, nuzzling the gray mech's neck and caressing his sensitive door wings.

Bluestreak touched his helm to his lover's. "I," he wrapped his arms around his lover's neck. "Love you." He kissed Sunstreaker's beautiful yellow lip components to emphasize his point. "So very much."

He'd seen many of his comrades confess their feelings for one another when they awoke on earth. He saw Sideswipe and Mirage express their feelings for one another every day. What he felt for the Lamborghini went beyond those three simple words. So strong was his passion, that it seemed to engulf his spark. He wanted to know, had to know, that Sunstreaker felt the same way he did.

Processors full of static, a pleasant tingling sensation in his door wings, Sunstreaker turning him over for another passionate tryst, he was so close to paradise. He would've been truly content if instead of a lingering, "Blue..." Sunstreaker would've whispered, "I love you too."


	25. 12 Orange

12-Orange

12-Orange

**AN: **When you're so bored you're reduced to staring at the wall...Also 1/4 of the way finished WOOHOO!

Sideswipe lay on his berth completely relaxed and entirely bored out of his processors. He wasn't on the patrol roster, nor would he be for a number of weeks. His latest confrontation with Prowl ensured that. There were no Decepticon helms to bash. They were being unusually quiet.

Sunstreaker was gone doing Primus knows what with Blue. The thought of Nintendo or television didn't seem interesting either. To his left lay Mirage, completely exhausted from Sideswipe's most recent attempt to cure his boredom. There was simply nothing to do. There was nothing to do but stare at the bland orange wall of their quarters.

There were some days, most days in fact, that he grew entirely tired of the color orange. He had to stare at that forsaken color when he walked down the corridors, when he lay in his berth at night, even when he was confined to the brig he was surrounded by orange.

Orange meant confinement, and it stirred something inside of him. It made his fingers twitch, his frame shiver, and he felt like he had to move lest he go crazy. He leaned over and whispered into his recharging lover's ear, "Hey Raji, I haven't paid Red Alert a visit in awhile. Wanna join me?"


	26. 40 Sight

40-Sight

40-Sight

**AN: **Some serious crack and extreme voyeurism goin' on. You've been warned...

Our room is completely dark. All I can see is the bright iridescent glow of his optics from across the room. The blue light illuminates his face just enough, and he looks like some ghostly apparition. His expression is a look of pure ecstasy. He keeps biting his lower lip plate, and as wrong as it sounds I'd really like to know what it would feel like to kiss him.

I'm vaguely aware of a strong pair of arms holding me on my side. I can feel the vibration of Sideswipe's thundering engine against my back. Fingers dig into my hip strut and flutter over my chassis. His glossa is flitting over the wires in my neck. He'll flare his field against my fully open and willing field only to pull back. I wish he'd stop teasing and just finish me already.

He clenches and unclenches his fist. The notion of uncurling his digits and sliding my glossa around them, between them. It won't escape my processors. I yearn to guide his fingers to where I really want to be touched, and where Sideswipe refuses to touch. Underneath the plating between my legs, or my static filled interface port...

The way he arches his back and whimpers, I can only assume Sunstreaker is doing the same thing to him.

His parted mouth, the dark silhouette of his door wings, and the smooth contours of his hips become the sole object of my fixation. Sideswipe's torment is reduced to a distant tingling in my chassis. I shouldn't focus on him. I shouldn't even be watching them. I should be trying to wither out of Sideswipe's firm grasp and take what I want from him.

Still, I have this sick desire to reach out and touch _him,_ but the berth across the room might as well be a million miles away. I want to kiss him hard and full on the mouth. I want to press my palms against his door wings. I'd like nothing more than to let my fingers roam over his chevron.

I want what we're both being denied.


	27. 64 Fall

64-Fall (Curing Acrophobia)

**AN: **So, little number took third place in Mecha Erotica's March challenge. Special thanks to Okamichan for betaing this.

"C'mon! I want you to come with me just this once. It's so much fun!" Sideswipe turned a somersault mid air for emphasis. "And you can see everything from up here. It's amazing!"

Mirage could see the beautiful Helix Gardens, the Celestial Temple, and the brilliant lights of Iacon by simply stepping onto the balcony. He didn't have to fly over them to appreciate their beauty.

"No thank you. If I were meant to be airborne, my creator would've crafted me wings," Mirage replied curtly. The jetpack was Sideswipe's most annoying and least enjoyable upgrade. It wasn't enough that he wanted to fly around like a reckless Seeker. He wanted to do it while juggling his own bond mate.

"You're afraid of heights aren't you?" Sideswipe's mouth plates morphed into a maniacal grin.

"Of course not," Mirage fidgeted clenching and unclenching his fists.

"You are! Just fly with me for a little bit. I'll hold you real tight, and I won't drop you."

"That's...so comforting. No." The blue mech edged away from the red twin.

"You are afraid of heights! We'll just have to fix that won't we?" Sideswipe glided to the place where his bond mate stood and scooped him up in one fluid movement.

Mirage kicked and struggled against Sideswipe instinctively. "Sideswipe! Put me back." Mirage caught a glimpse of the ground below then cried, "Primus, don't drop me!"

Sideswipe tightened his grip on the panicking mech, and pressed him closer to his chest plate. "I won't if you keep still."

The realization that he could fall to his death made him stop struggling instantly, and his body went tense against the mech that held him. "Are we really flying?" Mirage finally whispered.

"Yeah," Sideswipe chuckled. "It's not that bad is it?"

He was terribly afraid of falling to his death. There was this nervous fear induced churning sensation in his fuel tank. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to not purge his fuel tank. "Worse," he murmured

Sideswipe cradled Mirage in his arms. One arm was hooked underneath his legs; the other supported his back carrying him bridal style. "What are you so afraid of? I've got you." Sideswipe kissed his lover on the helm.

"I'm not just afraid of an error on your part. Your jetpack could malfunction or run out of fuel. We're so high, and I feel so helpless..."

"You make it sound so awful."

"It is," Mirage pouted.

"Nuh-uh. Being in the air is nice."

"How could you possibly think that?"

"Well," He bit his bottom lip in concentration thinking of ways to justify his love for the sky. "Everything looks so small and neat when you're up here. Like right now we're over the Crystal City. It looks so beautiful...well look for yourself!" He tilted Mirage in his arms so he could see the city below.

"Sideswipe!" He tightened his grip around his lover's neck, whimpered, and shuttered his optics. The city lights of Iacon below were not a welcome sight; it reminded Mirage of the great distance that separated him from the safety of the ground.

"Shhh! You're fine Raji," Sideswipe chuckled.

"You've had your fun terrorizing me. Now will you put me back on solid ground?"

"What's glitching your processors? Just let me show you what I like about it. Maybe I can change your mind."

Mirage parted his lip components in an attempt to protest.

"Shhh. Now in addition to the view, there's the wind. It feels good blowing against your plating doesn't it?"

Then Mirage noticed the powerful wind blowing all around him. It was cool against his dermal plating, and it tickled the bottoms of his feet. It flowed through every gap in his plating, and it made the most interesting howling noise flowing over his audio receptors.

"And the sky. It looks so pretty," the red mech added.

The entire time he'd been in the sky he'd done nothing but keep his face buried in Sideswipe's chest. He hadn't even bothered to look at the sky. Mirage cocked his head.

First he noticed his captor's gleeful expression. Sideswipe's optics shone brightly, and his mouth components crooked into a huge grin. In Mirage's opinion that was much nicer than any skyline view. Then he looked to the dark nighttime sky. Bright stars twinkled in the distance, and he felt completely lost in the vastness of the sky. The moons looked so close he felt as if he reached out he could touch them.

"I suppose it isn't completely unbearable," Mirage confessed. He admitted this in part because Sideswipe managed to note a few positives about being airborne. He also knew his bond mate's way of thinking. If he didn't change his mind, he was likely to be stuck in the air forever.

"Now, I want you to try something. Turn off your equilibrium chips, and I'll turn off mine."

"But," Mirage protested in hesitation.

"Trust me Raji?"

"Yes," he murmured giving in and turning off his internal balance systems. Try as he might he could never refuse Sideswipe.

Sideswipe maneuvered the blue mech so they were face to face. He wrapped one of his arms firmly around Mirage's torso, and the other grasped his hip strut. Mirage's wrapped his legs around Sideswipe's torso, and his arms around the red twin's neck and held on for dear life. "Good." His lip components met Mirage's in a deep passionate kiss.

Sideswipe darted from left to right, gliding over the air gracefully. Then he accelerated forward, then turned a back flip "Feels great doesn't it?"

Everything felt disjointed and incoherent. He was dizzy, blissfully dizzy. He couldn't quite discern up from down. Sideswipe's enthusiastic grin was up, and down...Where was down? Left and right didn't exist at all. Then there were the tingling sensations he felt in his hip strut. Sideswipe's digits pulled against the sensitive wires there, as if he were purposefully trying to stimulate him.

"It's so different -"

Sideswipe cut him off with another demanding kiss and, he propelled them into back flip after back flip. Then he launched them foreword into a front flip. Sideswipe sent a teasing jolt of electricity through his lover's flame, and flipped them foreword again and again. Each time they flipped another jolt of electricity coursed through Mirage's frame.

Each jolt of electricity strengthened in intensity, and soon left Mirage gasping, moaning, and sending his own retaliatory jolts.

When the sensations became too intense, Sideswipe stopped flipping for a moment, and the pair simply hovered in the air gazing into each other's lust filled optics and touching helms. Panting and intakes gasping for air, their breath hot on each other's lips, and static from their energy fields crackled around them.

"Sides," Mirage panted. "Please..." Mirage desperately flared his field against Sideswipe, kissed furiously against his closed lip components, and nipped and sucked at the exposed wires in Sideswipe's neck. "Side-swipe," the blue mech groaned adding far too many syllables to his lover's name.

"Are you still afraid I'll drop you?"

"What?"

"Are you still afraid of falling?" Sideswipe growled in a lust filled tone that made the mech in his arms tremble.

The amazing, if not woozy sensations he felt in his processor, Sideswipe's enticing caresses, he'd nearly forgotten he was hundreds of feet above the ground. "I said I trusted you. I mean it."

Sideswipe accelerated, propelling them higher in the sky. They now hovered far above Cybertron's loftiest buildings. Mirage didn't even have the opportunity to protest. Sideswipe opened his field completely to Mirage's flooding him with wave after wave of energy.

At the same moment he opened a connection between them, he turned the jetpack off, and they began to freefall through the air. Sideswipe covered his lover's mouth with his own muffling Mirage's panicked cries. _"Relax." _He pulsed through their bond. _"I'd die before I let anything happen to you."_ He sent a reassuring surge of energy to his partner. _"Concentrate on how good this feels." _

Mirage turned off his higher processors and surrendered. If they smashed into the ground, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Instead he focused on the unique yet terrifying sensation of falling. He shuddered against every wave of energy, and reciprocated. He kissed Sideswipe with a fiery passion, and moaned against his lover's mouth every time their fields pulsed.

Upside down and right side up had no meaning as the wind twisted and spun their bodies. With every klik, every kiss, and every flip they spiraled ever closer to the unforgiving ground.

Sideswipe intertwined his fingers with the wires in Mirage's hip strut, and moved his mouth to his lover's neck. Mirage's energy signature shifted from desperate and fervent to one of release as he reached overload. The shift was just enough to force Sideswipe to his own overload.

Sideswipe reactivated his jetpack slowing their velocity. When they were only a few inches from the ground he hovered and whispered into his bond mate's audio, "Are you still afraid?"


	28. 30 Death

30-Death

30-Death

"Sideswipe,"

His voice was anxious and unsure. He breathed shakily through his com demanding my attention. One word was all it took for me to know he was in trouble.

"Sides," he whimpered.

"I'll be right there Raji," I reply. His voice is so fearful it's terrifying. I cut away from my conversation with Jazz, Ratchet, and Blaster.

"What's wrong?" I pulse through our bond as I race down the hall.

A wave of guilt, shame, disgust, and fear washes over me, and I know these feelings are Mirage's. We usually know what the other is feeling through our bond, but he was blocking me out keeping me from something.

"_I...I've done something..."_

I find him at the far end of the base in the control room. The whole room is dark except for the dim glow of monitors and screens. There is just enough light that I can see the silhouette of my bond mate.

His whole frame trembles. His hands are at his sides, fingers twitching. His gaze strong gaze is fixed on some dull shape in the distance.

I touch my fingers to the back of his palm. His fingers don't move to curl around mine or pull away. He doesn't react at all. His palm is covered in something slick and wet. He speaks in a hollow voice that I can hardly recognize as his own.

"I killed him Sideswipe."

"What?"

I follow his gaze to a spot on the floor. It takes me less than a klik to activate my night vision, and in that klik I see what Mirage has been staring at. There's a mech lying on the floor in a pool of his own energon. His optics are dull and lifeless. There isn't a scratch on his frame, but his head is twisted at an odd angle.

"I killed him," he explains again. He clenches his fist and murmurs, "With my bare hands, Sideswipe. I took his spark. I-" his vocalizer falters

I notice the dead mech's Autobot symbol. The symbol's empty eyes stare at me, peer into my spark.

"He was a spy. You had no choice." I explain for what must be the thousandth time.

"But he..." He tries to cradle his helm with his energon stained hand. I snatch his hand and wipe the dead mech's fluids off of his digits.

"You're in special ops Mirage," I hardly ever call him by his real name. It's always, "Raji," or "Raj." The name seems foreign and out of place coming from my vocalizer. It reaffirms the severity of the situation.

The cloth in my hand is soaked in energon, but I continue to scrub Mirage's stained chassis. I want to pull him close and tell him everything will be okay, but he refuses to let me get close. "What did you expect?"

"You don't understand!" He's immediately pulled out of his trancelike state. He jerks away from me, and looks at me like I'm the most repulsive piece of scrap in the galaxy. "Your enemies don't hide behind the same symbol you wear. You don't talk to them; you don't even know their names." His vocalizer hitches, and sputters in static filled gasps. He looks up at me meekly. His face full of guilt, like he already knows what he's going to say is going to hurt me. "I wasn't reprogrammed for that like you were."

Not once in all the vorn we've been together have I intentionally hurt him. That murderous sadistic side of me is brought to life. I want to deny it exists so badly, but it emerges and won't go away. I push him harshly against the washrack wall.

He doesn't move to push me away or ask what's gotten into me. He doesn't even raise his gaze to meet mine. The vulnerable expression on his face, the empty look in his optics, and the energon smeared all over his chassis, he looks strangely beautiful, but I never want to see him like this again.

Slowly I uncurl my fingers from his shoulders, and try to quell the monster inside of me. Ugly dents are left in their wake. I have no right to contribute to his pain. This isn't my pride or the dead spy in the control room. It's about keeping Mirage whole.

Preserving his deep ringing laugh, his smile, making sure the part of him I love most isn't taken by this war, that is my main priority.

I pull him into a rough embrace and hold him tight. "Mirage, you have to understand. When it comes down to it it's either you or them." My lips brush his helm for a moment. "You can't let this war consume your spark...I won't let it."


	29. 22 Enemies

22-Enemies (Starring Mirage the badass)

He hated fighting, he hated combat, he hated the battlefield. It was dangerous, barbaric, and a little repulsive. However, there was one aspect of fighting, one tactic in particular, that Mirage abhorred above all others.

Mirage gritted his dental plates and stared at his target with the intensity of a supernova. In a simple, graceful motion he raised his blaster, took aim, and destroyed one of his enemy's vital engines. He didn't watch in sick satisfaction as his target fell. He ran, closing the distance between himself and the blue seeker. This wasn't over. Not yet.

Thundercracker fell to the ground with a thud, and Mirage descended upon the fallen jet. He took the other mech's hands in his own twisting the appendages just so motor wires were snapped and the hands rendered useless.

He became another mech entirely. His reluctance to fight replaced by a need for revenge. His foot connected with the jet's amber cockpit once, twice, again and again until the cockpit was reduced to shattered bits of broken glass, and Mirage's foot was buried in Thundercracker's internals.

His entire form trembled and burned with rage. Images of his bond mate attaching himself to the seeker wouldn't leave his processors. It annoyed him that Sideswipe got so close to the enemy. The memory of his bond mate being thrown from the air, the Lamborghini's body hitting the ground and convulsing with a sickening thud, seeing Sideswipe surrounded by a pool of his own energon, it enraged him. The hatred coursed through every fuel line in his body and threatened to consume him.

So engrossed in his assault, he didn't hear the, "whoosh," of another jet's engines approach. The sound of transformation burned in his audios, and a foot connected with his jaw. Mirage toppled backwards, and noticed Skywarp hovering menacingly in mid air.

Mirage didn't even have time to recover. A barrage of blasts from a null ray riddled his chassis. He could hear an irritating high pitch whine over the sound of gunfire.

"Starscream,"

He was next Mirage decided. Yes, Sunstreaker had attached himself to him. He was injured much in the way Sideswipe was.

Mirage rendered himself invisible and transformed; he circled round the battlefield until he was directly behind the seeker.

"Come out from hiding Autobot scrap!" Starscream cried. He continued to fire in the same spot he'd last seen Mirage.

Mirage transformed back into robot mode, rendered himself visible, and tore the seeker's feet out from under him. He spun Starscream round, and flung him at Skywarp. The black jet toppled over and fell to the ground with a crunch.

He lunged at Starscream and treated him much the way he did Thundercracker. He tore at the seeker's cockpit and the internals inside. He took the jet's null rays in his hands and bent them at ninety-degree angles. The whole time ignoring the jet's pitiful cry of, "Skywarp! Skywarp! Skywarp!"

_"Skywarp!"_

How could he forget the damned seeker was a teleport? He should've dealt with him first, should've ripped him to shreds so that...

On the hard dusty ground he could see the silhouette of a seeker appear behind him. He saw the interlocked fists rising above the jet's head, watched them come crashing down, make contact with his helm, but he couldn't move.

For a moment the world was blissfully, peacefully dark. He regained consciousness to find null rays gouging him, kicks pummeling him, fists connecting with every area of his body and producing every type of pain imaginable.

From the corner of his optic he could even see the battered and broken Thundercracker. His hands dangled limply from his arms, but that didn't impair him from raising his null ray and firing.

* * *

Mirage teetered on the brink of consciousness and unconsciousness.

Part of his processors told him to slip back into the peaceful depths of recharge. Every part of his body hurt. His helm felt as if it had been on the receiving end of Megatron's fusion canon, and only charred bits of his head remained. His arms throbbed with an excruciating, indescribable pain. It felt as if Primus were sitting on his chest plate crushing him. And his legs, he felt nothing in his legs, which terrified him. What if his legs were blown off in combat? When he was offline he couldn't feel this immense pain.

However another part of his processors told him he needed to be online. There were voices swirling around his audios talking about _him. _Were the sparks in the matrix deciding whether or not to send him to the pit, or were his comrades discussing his fate. He needed to know what was going on.

"Fragging slagger took on a trine of seekers! What the slag was he thinking? By all accounts he should be dead." Ratchet. So, he was still alive. Unless of course, he'd gone to the Pit, and Ratchet was his eternal tormenter.

"Kid beat 'em senseless. Made things a lot easier on th' field. He's a hero." Ironhide. Ironhide was here too. He must still be alive.

"His actions were most reckless and illogical. They will be reported to Prime."

"Aw Prowler! Looks like Raji's finally got some bearings. Don' ruin it for 'em."

"Yeah." This voice was much closer. It breathed in his audio in a soft whisper. "Ya got bearings of titanium babe. Now you gotta pull through for me." Mirage felt a soft flutter against his lips. Pain shot through the area.

Sideswipe. Sideswipe was all right.

He had to see him, touch him, make sure he was functioning. All of a sudden the pain didn't matter anymore.

He brought himself fully online and turned on his optics. He ignored the worried officers gathered around his berth, the many machines connected to his prone form, and his dented body. The fact that he looked like he'd been sent through a compactor was unimportant.. He immersed himself totally in the fretful gaze that met his.

"Raji," Sideswipe breathed. "Raji why did you do something so slagging crazy?"

"Sideswipe," Mirage flashed his lover an annoyed look. _"You know how much I fragging hate Jet Judo._


	30. 96 Writer's Choice: Music Drabbles

96-Writer's Choice-Drabbles

AN: Ryagelle posted a very interesting meme on LJ, and I thought I'd try it out. It's simple. Put your playlist on shuffle and write for the duration of the song. When a new song starts, write something different. So, here are ten little drabbles inspired by my playlist.

**Cumbersome- 7 Mary 3**

At best their relationship was symbiotic. They were equals and relied on one another as such. But there were so many times Mirage felt like a burden to his bond mate. He expected Sideswipe to save him from the war, the Decepticons, and even his fellow Autobots. But Sideswipe was just one mech...

**I Got You-Split Endz**

Sometimes they asked Sideswipe, "Why him of all mechs?" Sideswipe was boisterous, and fun. Mirage was...Mirage snobby and antisocial.

Sideswipe would simply reply, "I dunno. I just love him." He didn't need to justify his relationship. He had Mirage, and that was enough.

**Crazy Little Thing Called Love-Queen**

"You can't be serious."

"Serious as stasis lock."

"You're fragging glitched."

"No I'm not Sunny. I'm going to ask him to bond with me. I don't care what you or anyone else thinks."

**I Hate Everything About You-3 Days Grace**

It was uncontrollable, as uncontrollable as Sideswipe's erratic alter ego. The feeling welled up inside him whenever Sideswipe's inner demons surfaced. It surged through his fuel lines straight to his spark.

He would always tell himself he shouldn't feel that way. He always reminded himself that it wasn't Sideswipe's fault, and that part of his programming didn't truly change who he was.

Then he would see the way Sideswipe acted. He'd kill without mercy, didn't seem to mind the energon staining his hands. He'd leer at him in a way that was utterly repulsive. The things he'd say...

The only thing he hated more than that side of Sideswipe was the Decepticons who'd forever altered his bond mate.

**Blind Melon-No Rain**

Life on Earth was simple, mind numbingly simple in fact. However, after awhile Mirage noticed for the first time in his life that there was nothing wrong in living simply. It was why he liked a particular Earth phenomenon so.

The sky would open up and wash the Earth anew. The rain didn't corrode or cause damage, it caused things to grow and replenish. It was fascinatingly beautiful.

"Nothing like this on Cybertron," Sideswipe noted.

"No. No there isn't," Mirage replied nuzzling his lover.

**Somebody Put Something in my Drink-The Ramones**

"Raaajiiii," Sideswipe wrapped his arms around his bond mate. "When'd the room start spinnin baby?"

The rec. room had begun to rotate in every possible direction.

"You're drunk Sides, hopelessly drunk."

Sideswipe felt strong but gentle hands grab him and force him to sit down. He glanced up and found himself staring at one of two very annoyed Mirages.

**I Wish You Were Here-Incubus**

Sideswipe stared up into the clear dark Earth sky. "Whaddya think he's doing up there?" Sideswipe asked.

"Doing the same thing you are. Slagging 'Cons, raising hell, going crazy," Mirage replied as he stared into the dark starry night.

The pair lay on a grassy hill observing the nighttime sky. The grass felt soft beneath their plating, and the breeze was cool and crisp.

It would've been idealistic if Sunstreaker were there.

**Back on the Chain Gang-The Pretenders**

Mirage flopped onto his berth and sighed. He'd be spending the night alone. Again. Sideswipe was once again confined to the brig. This time it was for something completely pointless. He'd come to Sunstreaker's aid when a minibot harassed the yellow twin, but aid just happened to be throwing punches.

Mirage covered his optics with his hands and sighed again silently cursing his bond mate and the Ark's officers. Sideswipe could be so senseless at times, and Prowl could be so unnecessarily harsh.

He needed Sideswipe so badly right now.

**Imagine-John Lennon**

"Just think about it guys. No war ever again. It's over forever. What would you do?" Bumblebee asked curiously.

Jazz gave an appreciative whistle. "No war Bee? 'S easy me and Prowlie'd go see the rest of the universe. That's what I wanna do."

"What about you Mirage?"

"If the war were really over? Really over for good? That's so hard to comprehend. I mean its been going on for so long. It's so consuming and..." Mirage's face twisted into a crooked smile. "I'd just want to go back home with Sideswipe."

**You Got the Touch-Stan Bush**

Sideswipe's hands glided down Mirage's dark blue chassis. The Lamborghini paid special attention to the armor seam at his lover's waist. His fingers dipped in; playfully he tweaked every sensory node within his reach.

Mirage moaned and writhed beneath his lover's touch. Sideswipe was good. Sideswipe was excellent. The way he moaned his lover's name was a testament that after so many vorn Sideswipe could still drive him completely crazy.

**Calling Dr. Love-Kiss**

Mirage rubbed his temples and tried his hardest to concentrate. He checked his chronometer. "Only a few more hours to go. You can make it," thought to himself.

But try as he might he couldn't keep his mind his current task, monitor duty. His processors kept going back to earlier when Sideswipe insisted on teasing him. The thought of gray hands running down his chassis, Sideswipe's glossa teasing him...

"Sides," he murmured huskily into his comm. "Meet me in the monitor room. I need you."


	31. 46 Star

46-Star

**AN:** Completely inspired by one of my music drabbles

The pair lay intertwined on the side of a grassy hill. The cool breeze rippled across the mechs armor and into the gaps in their plating. Their optics turned to the dark nighttime sky. Sideswipe held Mirage close. One red arm draped around blue shoulders; the other arm wrapped around the blue mech's waist. Their legs interlocked.

"Say what you want about Earth. This is nice," Sideswipe noted.

"It's alright," Mirage replied absent-mindedly tracing Sideswipe's Autobot insignia. "But it's so different then back home. You can't even see any of the good constellations."

The pair stared at the twinkling stars in silence.

"Yes you can." Sideswipe untangled his arm. "Let's see...There's Unicron's wing array." He pointed to the three stars that formed the handle of the big dipper.

"And there's Prima," Mirage noted pointing to a cluster of stars in the sky. "I never noticed him before."

"Which one do you think is Cybertron Raji?"

Mirage felt a pang in his spark, "Sides..."

"I mean which one do you think is the Moonbase?"

Mirage pressed his lips to Sideswipe's cheek. "It's too far away Sides. You can't see it from here."

A long sigh escaped the Lamborghini's vocalizer. The past few cycles had been so hard for him. "What do you think he's doing out there?"

"The same things you are Sides, slagging 'Cons, causing trouble, worrying." Mirage tilted his lover's chin and claimed Sideswipe's mouth as his own. He sent as much love and reassurance through his bond as possible.

"Primus I miss him," Sideswipe spoke when he and Mirage parted.

"I know," Mirage replied. But he didn't really know. He could feel the pain Sideswipe felt though their bond. He knew what it was like to be separated from someone he loved, but Sunstreaker was Sideswipe's brother. He couldn't fathom how much the separation must've hurt.

"Hey," Sideswipe whispered softly nuzzling Mirage's helm. Do you know if squishies have their own constellations?"

"Yeah," Mirage gestured towards the sky. "There's Gemini, the twins."


	32. 65 Passing

65-Passing

**AN: **This chapter takes place after, "Who," and a chapter that I haven't written yet. Yes, I really am that horrible.

Whenever Sunstreaker was being a complete aft,or things weren't going well with Moonracer, Sideswipe found that there was only one thing to do.

He sped up, engine revving, and turned the corner at a breakneck speed. The wind felt amazing over his chassis. Zooming past everything, going as fast as he wanted, and finally being able to rid himself of that anxious feeling that haunted him, all brought about due to one simple action. Driving.

Usually at this time of night the raceway was completely empty. He was free to drive as fast and as recklessly as he wanted. However, as he reached the crest of a hill, he couldn't help but notice a pair of taillights speeding onward in the distance.

Sideswipe geared up, revved his engine, and sped on. Thinking to himself, "This should make things interesting."

* * *

Mirage sighed inwardly to himself. If only all the thoughts in his processor would leave him alone for just one klik.

Things were just awful he decided to himself. Several deals had fallen through, and he was losing money. His creator was on his aft at every moment telling him to, "Do the right thing."

He knew that if he really wanted to he could just drive right out of Iacon and escape it all. He stayed instead. He stayed completing lap after lap at the raceway. A predetermined course is far safer than going off on your own.

From somewhere behind him he heard the rumbling sound of another mech's engine. Mirage sighed again. This place was usually clear at this time of night, and dealing with others was something he wasn't in the mood for.

With a flash of red the other mech passed him weaving wildly across the track. The other mech offered just a few scant words in passing, "Eat my exhaust!"

"Who on Cybertron does he think he is?" Mirage wondered out loud, his voice tinged with annoyance. "The sheer audacity of some mechs."

Mirage's engine purred as he sped up. He too could play at this game, and teach the lout a lesson while he was at it. He had his engine upgraded every vorn, and he kept himself in peak physical condition. If either of them was going to be eating exhaust it wasn't going to be him.

The blue mech tore down the track. In mere kliks he closed the distance between himself and the strange red mech. By the time they reached the next turn he was close enough to tap the other mech if he wanted to. As they approached the turn, Mirage braked ever so slightly. It was far too easy to lose control at tight corners.

However, his opponent didn't slow down. He actually accelerated giving him a greater lead. Mirage didn't have his chance. His challenger drifted over the Mega Mile marker, the unspoken finish line, and won.

"Hey! You were pretty fast!" the red hover car spoke when Mirage met him at the marker.

"Thank you. Although, I could've been a more formidable opponent if I'd been challenged properly."

The red car chuckled. "Sorry about that. But you know how it is...Sometimes you just have to," At a loss for words the red mech revved his engine and rocked on his chassis. "You know?"

"Quite," Mirage replied absent-mindedly. He was still hung up on the fact that this turbo-revving aft beat him.

"Hey," the other mech's voice interrupted Mirage's musings. "You seem familiar. Have I met you somewhere before?"

"Um,"

"Yeah! You were at Sunny's party weren't you?" the red mech asked eagerly.

"Yes..." Mirage answered uneasily. Memories of the party flashed through his processors. Many of the events he'd rather forget, but the memories of a particular mech remained despite his attempts to forget them. "Sideswipe?"

"Raji!" Sideswipe chimed. "It's good to see you. Primus, I'm so sorry about-"

"It's fine," Mirage interrupted curtly.

"Well let me make it up to you. Let's have a rematch."

"I don't know..." Mirage wanted isolation, peace. A reckless escapade wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

"We can make things interesting," Sideswipe added. "If I win...If I win you have to go on a date with me."

"A date?" Mirage entertained the notion. The thought of putting this smug mech in his place was too tempting. "And if I win?"

"I'll leave you alone. You can drive peacefully and in solitude."

Putting aside his better judgment Mirage accepted with a confidant, "Fine,"

"Fine," Sideswipe repeated. "But don't be upset when I beat your pretty little aft."

* * *

"I'm catching up to you," Sideswipe jeered. He nudged Mirage's flank playfully.

"You wish," Mirage chuckled before he sped away from Sideswipe's reach. Mirage drove with blind ambition. The bet didn't matter, Sideswipe didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was winning. Proving that he was the best was the only concern he had.

There was no way the red mech could catch up to him now. Victory belonged to him and him alone. Mirage geared up and sped across the finish line.

"Slag!" he exclaimed as he rounded the corner and saw the blue mech parked and waiting. "Guess I'll be leaving you alone now," Sideswipe said as he straggled across the finish line astro-seconds after his opponent.

"Yeah." Mirage watched Sideswipe drive away, and he felt a pang in his spark. He hadn't had a challenge like that in vorns. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd had that much fun.

"Sideswipe wait!" he called. "You were really close. Maybe we need to race one more time."


	33. 13 Yellow

13-Yellow

**AN: **Some post, "Golden Lagoon" fluff. I'm not completely sure if either Mirage or Sideswipe were in the electrum, so I'm sorry if this is horribly inaccurate in that regard.

"So I could just beat the slag outta ya and nothing would happen?" Sideswipe asked curiously. Charcoal fingers danced across Mirage's slightly altered frame in amazement.

"I suppose, but it's wearing off," Mirage replied. "So I wouldn't-"

"I wouldn't." Sideswipe stared at his lover in wonder and desire. "Beautiful..." His lips met with Mirage's abdomen. "My beautiful golden saboteur."

"Hmph," Mirage's mouth plates twisted into a smirk. "Don't let Sunny hear you. He'll think you're doting on him."

"Nah," Sideswipe's glossa drifted across Mirage's midriff. The Lamborghini pondered the odd taste of gold and silver alloy. "He's too busy showing off in the rec. room."

"Ah!" Mirage moaned and arched his back. Sideswipe hit a sensitive seam in his armor.

Sideswipe reveled in his lover's sparkling gold form. Mirage glistened with the brilliance of the stars. Strong, glittering, his. "If I could keep you like this all the time...Bathe you in electrum everyday."

"The Decepticon's destroyed it."

"Fraggers." Sideswipe hungrily claimed Mirage's with his own.

"You look like a relic," Sideswipe declared.

"Sides!"

"You look like a holy artifact," the Lamborghini continued. "The loveliest work of sculpture crafted from the finest of alloys. You belong in a temple of Primus, not my berth. On a pedestal, worshiped at an alter...That's how breathtaking you are."

His arms stretched above his head, his body was completely exposed and vulnerable. He had that hungry, needy look in his optics. Blue optics offset shimmering gold. To Sideswipe there wasn't a more lovely sight in the universe.

"Flatterer. Are you sure you aren't enamored for all the wrong reasons?" Mirage asked huskily.

Invisible, Blue, Gold, it didn't matter. He'd always be enamored with Mirage. "Never."


	34. 23 Lovers

23-Lovers

**AN:** Raj and Side's first time...

"Mirage," Sideswipe whispered huskily into the blue mech's audio. "You'd be lying if you said you didn't want this." His fingers trailed town Mirage's inner thigh.

"Sideswipe...You know I can't," he breathed heavily trying to ignore the wonderful sensations Sideswipe was causing. Mirage tried to focus on something else to divert his attentions. He knew that the moment he lowered his gaze and met Sideswipe's he'd have to make a decision. He'd have to throw him off, or let him continue.

Instead he stared at the polished chrome floor on which they lay. From the corner of his optic he could see the polished bust of Nova Prime staring at them in disapproval.

Mirage wasn't in the state of mind to make that kind of decision. How could he when the mech on top of him insisted on placing fluttering little kisses down his chassis?

How did he allow himself to get in this position?

Oh yes. Sideswipe decided it would be a good idea to try and kiss him. Whenever that happened it made Mirage want to throw caution to the wind and do crazy things. But they couldn't do this. Not here in the parlor where anyone could come in and see them.

Not now when he was so unsure.

"Sideswipe we can't. You and I-" Hungry gray lips cut him off, and Mirage accepted them. How could he not? Even while laying prone Sideswipe's kisses made him swoon.

"We can't what?" The red mech tilted Mirage's chin so they were forced to look one another in the optics. "We can't because you don't want to, or because you're afraid someone might disapprove?"

Silence resonated through the room and burned in Mirage's audios. Once again Sideswipe pinned him down. How could Sideswipe always see past his vague demeanor and always know what he was thinking?

He breathed in sharply trying to force his vocalizer to form words. He wanted so badly to tell Sideswipe that he was afraid.

If his creator found out there would be hell to pay.

He was afraid of his own emotions too. The more time he spent with Sideswipe the closer he felt to him. It wasn't exactly love, but Mirage wanted more than interface. If he did this with Sideswipe there would be no turning back.

But did Sideswipe feel the same way?

He felt fingers ghost across his jaw line. "You're over thinking it Raji. Either you want to or you don't. Frag everyone else; we can worry about the rest later."

He looked into Sideswipe's shining blue optics and felt a wave of desire consume him. Once again the red mech above him was right. Now just wasn't the time to worry. He wanted Sideswipe, and that was all that mattered. Mirage raised his lips to Sideswipe's, held his breath, and never looked back.


	35. 55 Spirit

55-Spirit

**AN: **TFs and religion has always fascinated me. Also, for some reason this prompt was very hard to write. Sideswipe was giving me trouble...

Sideswipe leaned against a doorframe that was large enough for a guardian robot to walk through. His hands were crossed against his chest, and he tapped his foot anxiously. His optics stared nervously into the distance. This place made him uneasy on so many levels.

"You almost finished?" Sideswipe asked trying to make his question sound as gentle as possible. Mirage needed solace; never the less, they were in danger. If the enemy didn't catch them, they'd be seriously reprimanded for sneaking away from the base.

"Almost," Mirage replied. He held up his small iridescent lamp and read the names inscribed on the gold and silver wall. His fingers brushed against each name languidly; his optics transfixed on each individual letter. "You know, every one of my ancestors is entombed here." A blue palm rested on a blank plaque. "Except for him."

Barely a deca-cycle ago they'd received news that the towers fell to Decepticon attack. It was decimated, destroyed, nothing remained of their former home, nor did anything remain of Mirage's creator's home.

"But, he deserves to be here more than any of them."

Sideswipe said nothing offering no words of comfort. He didn't understand Mirage's connection with his creator. He and Sunstreaker were manufactured mechs. Their sparks bore no ties to their creator. He couldn't understand the affection Mirage felt. His father-in-law seemed cold if not controlling, but Mirage adored him all the same.

Mirage moved toward a small alter in the center of the temple. "I'll be finished in a moment. You understand I need to do this."

"Do what you have to." He didn't understand, but he could stand by his bonded.

Mirage knelt on a moldering cushion and carefully brushed the dust off the low alter. Even after the temple had fallen into a state of disrepair, it was unbelievably beautiful. The temple was adorned with large intricate columns, statues of prominent ancestors and the original thirteen, and the alter made of pure gold. A thousand other treasures adorned the house of worship.

"We used to be very devout," Mirage stated absent-mindedly.

"I know." Sideswipe recalled that Mirage's creator could link anything back to an act of Primus or and Original Thirteen.

"He'd always say that Primus' presence was in this place." Mirage opened his subspace pocket and removed a small satchel. From the satchel he procured several ceremonial crystals of various colors. "Before I didn't believe him." He arranged them around the alter, and they illuminated the temple. "But now I think he's right. He's here hiding from the wars his children are fighting."

"Raji..." Sideswipe gasped unable to comfort his confused bond mate.

"Its true. How else could all this happen? Come here," Mirage ordered. "I want you to say the farewell vows with me."

"Mirage, I don't think it's appropriate for me to..."

Then Mirage said the one word that Sideswipe could never say no to, "Please."

Before he knew it he was on his knees reciting ancient mourning prayers with Mirage. Their voices echoed in unison through the quiet, empty chapel. Sideswipe's arm found its way across Mirage's shoulder, and whenever the blue mech's vocalizer faltered, Sideswipe was always there to help him finish the verse.

An enemy bombardment began, and they could hear the roar of bombs thundering in the distance as they recited the prayers. The ground and chapel shuddered. The walls cracked and debris fell to the floor. The sound of thundering explosions filled their audios and deafened them. Sideswipe held Mirage close as they waited for the bombardment to cease.

Breems passed before the attacks stopped. The explosions left a ringing noise in their audios.

Mirage shivered in Sideswipe's arms. A sob escaped Mirage's vocalizer followed by words that would be burned in Sideswipe's processors for cycles to come. "Primus, I miss him."


	36. 87 Life

87-Life

**AN:** I just want to let you know that this is completely **AU** to the rest of Equilibrium. It isn't attached to the main story at all. This explores a kink I've wanted to write about for a long time. Dark stuffs and angst ahead.

"Mirage, please..."

Mirage sighed. He wanted so badly to tell him no. He wanted to push him away and look upon him with disgust. But he could never treat his bonded that way, even if his bonded was just a husk of his former self.

When Sideswipe was killed in the battle for Autobot City he was devastated and lost. An empty feeling in his spark haunted him. Life lost all meaning, and he was so close to joining his lover in the afterlife he could taste it.

But, when Perceptor told him there might be a way to bring his bonded back, he had a reason to live again. As he watched Perceptor make repairs to Sideswipe's battered body, the feeling of hopelessness began to fade, and he looked forward to the day he and his bond mate would be one again.

Sideswipe looked at him with blank blue optics. Gone was the laughter and mirth they held in life. His mouth a constant straight line that never smiled in glee or mischief as it once did. He should've known something was wrong soon after he was reactivated. Sunstreaker asked him if he wanted to go mess with the minibots and Sideswipe said no.

"You're the only one who'll let me..." He stepped forward trying to close the distance between himself and Mirage. His charcoal colored hand pressed against his shoulder, and pushed him against the wall. This only reminded Mirage that he really didn't have a choice in the matter. When Sideswipe was deprived, he would use force if necessary.

The mech before him really wasn't Sideswipe at all. This mech looked like Sideswipe, talked like Sideswipe, and even contained Sideswipe's memories, but it wasn't Sideswipe. They'd brought him back using the small portion of him that was contained in Mirage's spark. But a portion of a spark couldn't give a mech life.

To supplement the rest of the spark, they used data from Sunstreaker's spark and memories from both Mirage and Sunstreaker. But try as they might they really couldn't bring Sideswipe back to life. He hadn't the charm, the humor, or the love Sideswipe had in life. The only thing the empty red hull contained was distance, emptiness, and need. Mirage didn't know what was harder; losing his bond mate, or living with someone that wasn't truly his lover.

Mirage looked into Sideswipe's blank expression and nodded giving him permission. He was right; there was no one else. Usually he used Decepticon prisoners, but the brig was empty. Sunstreaker hated it. He'd tried it on another once, but the attempt was unsuccessful. He didn't tell Cliffjumper what he was doing, or why he was doing it. He just attacked out of need.

Mirage would rather himself be used then have another incident like that occur. The higher officers were notified, and there was panic and investigations abound. They were lucky, no one linked the mysterious attacker to Sideswipe. First Aid and Perceptor didn't even know the side effects of Sideswipe's reactivation, and Mirage would make sure they never knew. There would be no more experiments or examinations.

Mirage still felt bound to him. Sideswipe needed his protection, no matter how much he'd changed.

Sideswipe looked at him hungrily, grabbed him roughly by the arm, and led him to the berth. He sat on the berth's edge and pulled Mirage on top of him. One arm wrapped firmly around Mirage's waist. He massaged the cables in Mirage's neck with his trembling free hand. He grazed his lips across the cables; his breath hot against the other's neck.

Mirage grimaced and shuddered. _"No foreplay. Do only what you need to."_

"_I thought maybe it' d be easier if I-" _The dark hand around his waist drifted trying to find a sensitive seam.

"No." Mirage spoke aloud, his voice stern and harsh. He wouldn't allow the beautiful things he and Sideswipe used to share to be tainted by this beastly ritual.

Sideswipe nodded his hand returning to Mirage's neck. He found an energon line nestled within the cables housed there. The line was thick, black, warm, and familiar. Carefully he unscrewed it from the main line_. _Energon gushed from the line spilling onto his hands and Mirage's chassis. He took the line into his mouth unceremoniously and drank.

There were many side effects to Sideswipe's reactivation. Among them was his inability to process pure energon. His body, despite whatever repairs were made, couldn't digest energon. Whenever he tried to ingest the energon his whole body convulsed, and his fuel tank purged itself of its contents.

Drinking the partially digested energon of another mech was the only way to keep Sideswipe from starving. Mirage was life; Mirage was survival.

There was nothing as horrible as feeling your own life force drained. All conscious thought left Mirage's processors. Energon gushed from the open wound. Mirage could feel the sickening pulse of energon through his entire body. A wave of unnatural warmth washed over him, and he began to feel a tingling numbness in his fingertips.

He couldn't decide if the lapping and nibbling at his energon line was pleasurable or painful. Mirage moaned and buried his head into the red mech's shoulder. The pain was unimaginable. His hands clenched against Sideswipe leaving large ugly dents in the red mech's arms. Finally the blue mech swooned and passed into an unconscious state.

Mirage onlined to find himself resting in his berth. His head rested on a cushion, and his energon line had been put back into place. His fingers felt numb and cold; he couldn't feel his legs at all. He tried to move, but found that he couldn't. _"Lucky to be alive I suppose." _He always ravaged him, drained him until he tottered on the edge of life and death.

Mirage groaned in pain and frustration. He could deal with the barbaric ritual if he could actually have Sideswipe back.

A few kliks later Sideswipe appeared above him. "I brought you energon Mirage,"

Mirage watched vacantly as Sideswipe pulled three cubes of high-grade from his subspace pocket. Eventually all the high-grade he'd be taken would be noticed. More lies, more risk, the monster easier to expose.

Sideswipe sat next to Mirage and propped the blue mech's helm. He lifted a cube of energon to Mirage's lips and tried to feed the high-grade to his bond mate.

Mirage's energy was so depleted he couldn't even swallow the fuel. He coughed and sputtered unable to consume the food.

"I must've really drained you. I'm sorry," Sideswipe said in a dry uncaring way that was entirely unlike the Lamborghini. Sideswipe dipped his fingers into the sparkling cube; then he inserted the energon-covered digits into Mirage's mouth.

Mirage lapped hungrily at Sideswipe's digits. Sideswipe repeated the process dipping his fingers into the cube and feeding Mirage.

The entire time anger stirred deep within Mirage's spark. It was so much easier to romanticize their desire to hold him again then it was to actually live with him. If they'd only known the consequences of, "anything to have him,"

"_I wish you were still dead," _Mirage thought.

Sideswipe pulled away from his bond mate. His placid expression morphed to one of shock and hurt.

"I-I didn't mean it. Sideswipe I-" Mirage stammered. Desperately he tried to get his stiff limbs to move. He wanted so badly to reach out and touch the mech opposite him.

"Yes you did," he replied calmly. "And I agree with you. This is no way to live."


	37. 25 Strangers

25-Strangers

**AN: **Sigh. This chapter has given me trouble from the start, and to be honest I'm not truly content with it. It may leave a lot of you thinking, "Wha!?" I'm using it as a catalyst for the next few chapters. These chapters will explain just how Mirage and Sides got together, and the drama behind it. The Rite of Oneness is borrowed from the early Marvel comics.

Desperately he tried to push thoughts of _him _from his mind. Bringing up thoughts or memories of him would only remind him of the severity of what he was doing. If Mirage wondered, even for a moment what Sideswipe might think of him, his cold demeanor would break, and his spark with it.

Now he felt no joy, content, or mirth like he did with _him_. He repeated one simple phrase to himself to keep him from feeling anything at all, "This can't be real."

But the patronizing touch to his cheek reaffirmed that it was all too real. Mirage slowly powered on his optics to look at the hand that willed the touch. His optics traced an invisible line from black wrist, to purple arm, helm, to the face of a mech he barely even knew.

He knew the mech's name: Ratbat. He was a senator, but his processors were geared solely toward business. He knew that he was hand picked by his creator to be his partner. And Mirage knew that whenever Ratbat looked at him, all he saw was a profit.

"_Why him? I don't love him; I don't even know him."_

Ratbat was chosen because of one simple fact: his financial success. His creator believed that a comfortable life, and someone to take care of him was all that Mirage needed. Love, affection, and a reckless red merchant were only frivolities.

He knelt across from the senator under the cathedral's dim lighting. The cushion he knelt on felt foreign underneath his knees. His optics darted from the alter, to the vaulted ceiling, to the door. His optics settled on anything but the strange mech that insisted on touching him.

"_Frightened?"_ Ratbat asked through his radio.

Mirage hesitated to answer. He didn't want to at the mech let alone talk to him. _"Terribly," _he finally answered.

"_Don't be afraid."_ A dry chuckle crackled over the radio, and a cold hand slipped into Mirage's. _"I'll take care of you." _

Mirage's fuel tank churned at the very thought. The far off voice of a priest droned on and on about unity between a pair of mechs. The blue mech turned down the volume on his audios.

He turned looking at the only other mech in the chapel, his creator. At least he was allowed to bear this humiliation without an audience.

Mirage felt a nudge at his side. It was time; this was it. No turning back. Nervously he raised a decorated container that contained his own fuel. His hands shook so badly he dropped the container causing energon to spill to the floor and his hands.

He heard his creator groan in annoyance as he tried to pick up the ceremonial vase.

The Rite of Oneness was an ancient Cybertronian tradition. It was used to seal promises, transactions, and business deals. And, if a pair of mechs wished to show their affection for one another without bonding, they could perform the rite. Once the rite was performed couldn't be broken; unless one wanted to be shunned from society.

He listened as Ratbat spoke hollow vows of love, honor, and to stay by one another's side. Mirage repeated them deftly.

Mirage raised his canister once more and poured it in unison with Ratbat. The intermingling fluids represented the trust the two mechs were thought to share.

With a puff of smoke from the mixing fluids, Mirage was forever bound to Ratbat under oath. His own dreams, aspirations, and affection, perhaps love for Sideswipe pushed aside in the name of profit. One thought ran continuously through his processors, _"I should be with Sideswipe."_


	38. 89 Work

89-Work

**AN: **Mirage, being torn between duty and love, was being uncooperative and hard to write...Takes place after, "Strangers" and "Lovers," and all the others that deal with how Raj and Sides got together.

Mirage's optics drifted from one side of the vacant office to the other. A desk large enough for a guardian robot adorned the center of the room. On the desk sat an energon dispenser that most likely contained high-grade. His body seemed to sink deeper and deeper into the cushy chair in which he was sitting. Sparkling trinkets made of rare crystals decorated the room.

Mirage sighed and leaned forward in the chair that threatened to swallow him whole. He was clearly in the office of a mech who was trying too hard to impress.

The door opened with a click; Mirage turned and froze. The edge of a red foot peeked out from the partially open door. Someone called, "I'll be done in a minute Sunny. Wait for me!"

"_Slag!" _Of all the offices, all the businesses, all the deals to close, he just had to end up at his place.

He'd done everything in his power to forget his own desires and please his creator in the past few cycles. Mirage rendered himself invisible and thought of the last time he saw him. He recalled Sideswipe kissing him and guiding him to the floor.

His spark flipped in its casing. He had to remember one simple thing: he was bound to another mech now.

"Sorry to keep you wait-" Sideswipe walked through the door to find his office empty. "What the slag?" An annoyed sigh escaped the red mech's intakes. "Damn it Mirage! That won't work on me. I know you're invisible; frag I met you when you were invisible."

"Sorry," Mirage mumbled. "But you know that I get nervous, and I-"

"I know. This isn't the first time you've pulled a disappearing act." Sideswipe spat.

"I'm sorry," Mirage repeated still in his invisible state. "You don't understand Sideswipe I-"

"I don't care," Sideswipe interrupted. He crossed the room and sat at his side of the desk. "You're not here to talk about why you've been ignoring me. You wanna talk business, so let's talk."

"Uh... Yes, um." Mirage pulled a data pad from his subspace pocket. "You recently made an offer of three cubes per unit but,"

"Mirage," Sideswipe spoke to a seemingly empty chair and a hovering data pad. "Could you at least talk to me...visibly?"

* * *

"You can't get transformation cogs for that price anywhere else. My offer stands."

"Hm," Mirage replied absent-mindedly. During Sideswipe's tirade his processors wandered. He concentrated solely on a trinket on Sideswipe's desk. A shimmering likeness of Unicron that diverted his gaze, and helped him ignore his guilt and desire.

"I see you've noticed my statue. Like it?"

"It's blasphemous," Mirage replied still staring at the object that praised the Unmaker.

"I think it's beautiful." Sideswipe rose from the chair and grabbed the figurine. "Just like the mech in front of me." He put the statue back down and placed his palms flat on the desk. "Mirage can I kiss you?" the red mech spoke in barely a whisper. He rocked anxiously on his heels and stared intently at Mirage.

"Sides I don't think-" was all that could escape Mirage's vocalizer before Sideswipe's mouth met his.

His lips were smooth and gentle against his own. His glossa demanding. Black fingers tilted his chin just so, and it made Mirage's knees weak.

"_Primus," _Mirage thought to himself remembering just how much he missed this.

"Why'd you leave Raji?" Sideswipe spoke when they finally parted.

Unable to provide a sufficient answer, he kissed Sideswipe again. "It's so complicated Sideswipe," he said getting lost in the dim blue optics he'd avoided for so long.

"Try me," Sideswipe replied in a husky voice that made Mirage quiver. The red mech moved o the other side of the desk, cleared away the data pads and trinkets that lay there, and sat on the desk's edge.

"Primus where do I begin?" Mirage sat back in the chair and rested his helm in his hand. "I-I haven't been completely honest with you."

"Really?" Sideswipe replied sarcastically.

"Sides..." Mirage sighed. "This is all my fault. You know I come from a noble family. Ever since..." Mirage struggled to find the right words. "Ever since I met you I've...I've belonged to someone else."

"What the frag?"

"Before I ever met you I was betrothed to another mech. My creator thought very highly of him. He's a senator. Established, sophisticated, well off..."

"Can't stand him can you?"

"No. I knew I was promised to him. I should've never gotten involved with you, but when I'm with you I feel so..." Mirage trailed off again at a loss for words.

"Hey. You wanna know something?"

Mirage nodded.

Sideswipe took Mirage's hand into his own. "I just ended a ten vorn relationship."

"Because of me?" A wave of guilt washed over Mirage.

"Cause of a lot of reasons. But you were a factor. What I'm trying to say is, nothing's etched in our hard drives. Leave him."

"It's not that simple." Mirage's grip tightened on Sideswipe's hand. "I'm joined to him," Mirage murmured.

"You're bonded?"

"No. I performed the Rite with him."

"Primus Raji don't scare me like that." Sideswipe's mouth morphed into a mischievous smile. "If you were bonded, we wouldn't have the option of running away to Iacon and living the rest of our lives in sin."

"I couldn't do something like that. You know that."

"Why not?" Sideswipe raised their hands so he could kiss each of Mirage's blue digits. "You're unhappy with him; you're happy with me. Simple as that."

"It's in my programming to obey my creator's word. Pleasing him is second nature to me. And the Rite is sacred, permanent, irrevocable," Mirage responded with sorrow in his voice.

Sideswipe rose bringing Mirage up with him. Their hands still interlocked, he led the blue mech to the door.

"Primus Mirage, you just don't get it do you?" He pulled Mirage into another passionate kiss and keyed in the entry code to open the door. "I think I'd love you, if you'd only think for yourself," he spoke when they parted, and gently pushed Mirage out the door.


	39. 28 Children

28-Children **AU Alert! **

**AN:** Blah, I've been in such a writing funk. This is actually an old piece I've just gotten around to posting. Also, this is totally **AU**. Firestorm is purely Okamichan's creation. Also, I'll conclude my lackluster Ratbat storyline soon.

"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe it's time for bed," Mirage called softly. He couldn't hide his smile as he turned the corner and entered the rec. room. There the twins set at one end of a table busily moving tiny pieces around a game board.

"No, no, no, you cannot move your ground troops in that formation! It's against the rules." At the other end of the table set a very frustrated Perceptor. He'd spent the better part of a cycle attempting to teach the twins how to play Firestorm with little success. "Perhaps if you tended to your left flank," he suggested.

"Yeah, take advice from the enemy. We're not stupid," Sideswipe sassed.

Sunstreaker shoved a line of infantry pieces across the board taking out his opponent's front line.

"Slag for brains look what you did!" Sideswipe cried, but it was too late. Perceptor moved his pieces into the exposed left flank and obliterated the twin's troops. Only a few lone Seeker pieces remained. "Rematch!" the little red mech exclaimed.

"No, game's over. It's time for you to get some recharge." Mirage placed a hand on each sparkling's shoulder.

"Awwww! But-" the twins exclaimed.

"No excuses. I have to leave on a mission in a few cycles, and you have duty in the med bay with Ratchet and Wheeljack." Although he'd never come right out and say it, Ratchet loved any sentient that couldn't fend for themselves or needed affection. Ratchet always watched the twins whenever Mirage had to go on a mission, or they were driving him crazy. Mirage always knew the twins were busy and out of trouble whenever they were with the CMO and the scientist.

"Fine," Sunstreaker pouted sliding out of the chair.

"Meanie," Sideswipe added.

"Thanks Perceptor," Mirage added. Caring for the sparklings was a constant and utterly demanding task. And if he wasn't catering to their every whim, he was away on a mission behind enemy lines. He rarely got any time for himself or with Hound.

But he didn't mind. Before, his belief in the Autobot cause wavered. He found no joy in espionage or fighting like his colleagues Jazz and Bumblebee. Caring for the twins gave him joy, and a reason to fight. He wanted a world without war for Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

Mirage took each by the hand and led them back to their quarters.

It was a complete fluke that he was the twins' guardian. Jazz had found them huddled together amongst the charred remains of a Decepticon laboratory. The saboteur couldn't leave the infant sparklings. He eventually convinced Prime that there was no real harm in taking them in because they were so young and helpless. With a little rewiring, they could become useful soldiers.

Jazz wanted to care for the sparklings, but Prowl deemed it illogical because of their demanding positions as officers. Ratchet and Wheeljack were too busy tending to the wounded to care for a pair of sparklings.

When Prime asked him to care for the sparklings he'd initially wanted nothing to do with them, but he couldn't leave them in the hands of some low ranking peon could he? One look into their innocent blue optics, and he couldn't say no.

Sunstreaker climbed into the berth followed by Sideswipe. "Raji, I'm not tired," Sunstreaker complained.

"Uh-Hmm," Mirage replied. He adjusted the berth's temperature ensuring that the twins wouldn't get cold during the night. He sat on the berth, and from his subspace pocket he removed a canister of energon goodies. "Would you like a bed time snack?"

Each sparkling took treat and ate it greedily.

"Still not tired," Sunstreaker persisted.

"Maybe another goodie would make a difference?"

"Maybe...probably not." Sunstreaker accepted another energon treat.

"Um Raji?"

"Yes Sideswipe?"

"Uh...I'm not tired either and I think maybe um another energon goodie might-" Sideswipe fidgeted.

"Of course, have another," Mirage chuckled.

"I want another one too!" Sunstreaker insisted.

"No, you've both had your share. But if you both settle down and promise to try and go offline, I'll tell you a story."

"Okay!" a pair of excited voices answered. Sideswipe propped himself up on his knees and scanned the shelf that set adjacent to the berth. He pushed several toys aside and reached for one data pad in particular.

"This one. Read this one!" The red sparkling handed it to Mirage then snuggled up to his brother.

Mirage didn't even have to hit the power button on the data pad. He'd read the twins this story so many times he'd memorized it word for word. "Once upon a time," the blue mech began.

* * *

"The pair loved one another so much that they bonded. And, naturally, they lived happily ever after."

"Mirage, what's "bonded" mean?" Sideswipe asked curiously.

"Um," the older mech began. "Well..." He'd read the twins that fairy tale so many times. Why did Sideswipe wait until now to ask? "When two mechs love one another very much," Suddenly horrible, awkward memories of explanations given by his creator flashed through his processors. Cold, purely medical explanations given by the Academy followed.

Silently he debated the best way to explain this to the red twin. What was the appropriate amount of knowledge for a mech so young?

Mirage turned his attention to Sunstreaker distracting him from the other twin's question. The yellow brother had fallen into recharge while he told the story. For someone so cantankerous during his waking hours, Sunstreaker looked peaceful while offline. Mirage plucked a half-eaten energon goodie from Sunstreaker's grasp.

"When two mechs love one another very much, they merge their sparks together. They'll never really be apart that way," he finally answered.

"Oh," Sideswipe replied. The sparkling sat up. "Raji?" Sideswipe climbed into the blue mech's lap.

"Yes?" The older mech shifted to accommodate the youngling.

"I don't understand." he replied in a frustrated tone. "So like me and Sunny are we bonded?"

"Yes you're bonded. The two of you have a very different, special bond." Mirage hoped he wasn't confusing Sideswipe even more, but his bond to his brother was different from other bonds.

"Ratchet and Wheeljack?"

"They're bonded too."

"Prowl and Jazz?" Sideswipe rested his face into Mirage's shoulder joint.

"Uh-huh." Mirage wrapped his arm around the younger mech.

"You and Hound?" Sideswipe asked timidly.

"No Sides," Mirage chuckled with a tinge of bitterness in his voice. "I'm not bonded to anyone."

"Oh... I don't think I understand."

"When you fall in love, I think you'll understand." Mirage rose and placed Sideswipe on the berth next to his sleeping brother. He turned off the light, and Sideswipe's questioning blue optics were the only thing visible in the room. Silently, he placed a kiss on Sideswipe's cheek plate. "Goodnight Sideswipe."

"Night Raji." Sideswipe grabbed Mirage's hand when he turned to leave. "Um...Raji?"

"Yes?" Mirage answered patiently. He endured thousands of questions from the twins each day. What harm could one more cause?

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"So...Uh...Can we bond now?"

A sigh escaped Mirage's vocalizer followed by a chuckle. The twins' innocence was unbelievable, amusing, adorable. "Goodnight,"


	40. 94 Independence

* * *

94-Independence

**AN:** A conclusion to the storyline presented in other chapters. Major fluff alert!!

Mirage's fingers rested just inches above the door chime. Nervously he tapped the wall in indecision. Should he ring the chime or walk away? Last time he saw Sideswipe he was so angry, but he had every reason to be. Then again, Sideswipe said he loved him.

The pitter-patter of raindrops ghosted over Mirage's audios. He turned and sighed. Glowing droplets of acid rain began to fall. There was no time to find shelter elsewhere; he had to gather his courage.

Before he had time to act, the door whooshed open, and Mirage was greeted by Sideswipe's smug expression. "You know Sunny said there was some weirdo just standing out here for breems, but I didn't believe him."

"Well I um..." Mirage stuttered.

"So, you wanna come in, or are you just going to stand out there and corrode?"

He thought Sideswipe would want an explanation of why he was there. Once again Sideswipe caught him off guard, and once again Mirage was speechless. "Yes. "

Mirage barely had one foot in the door before Sideswipe trapped him in a savage kiss. Their glossa intertwined, and Sideswipe's hands roamed over the blue mech's body. "I was beginning to think you'd never change your mind."

"There was nothing to change. I just couldn't decide between my duty to my creator and my feelings for you." Mirage finished his statement with a kiss.

"What made you decide?" Sideswipe asked when they parted.

"I'd rather be free and content than deal with..." Mirage trailed off. His optics drifted to his own chassis.

It was then Sideswipe noticed deep purple scratches on his lover's armor. Nicks and scratches adorned almost ever inch of his surface. A charcoal finger traced one long purple mark from the white part of Mirage's chest to his shoulder. Sideswipe rested his palm there. "He didn't hurt you did he?" Anger tinged his voice, and his hand clenched into a fist. "I swear Mirage. If he hurt you I'll-"

"No, and that's I'm here. After I met you in your office that day, I couldn't stop thinking about what you said. After that I couldn't obey him, or give him what he wanted. Sideswipe I've been dishonored, disowned, left homeless, and," Mirage's mouth twisted into a pathetic smile "I can only hope you'll forgive me."

Sideswipe closed the short distance between them crushing the blue mech to his chest. "Of course I will," he murmured against Mirage. "Slag for brains."

Mirage pulled Sideswipe into another kiss. His hands explored his partner's audio horns. "Sideswipe?"

"Hmm?" Sideswipe purred leaning into the touch.

Mirage looked up at Sideswipe with optics full of need. "I need you."

"You'll break The Rite." Sideswipe reluctantly reminded knowing The Rite was sacred, not easily broken.

"Frag the Rite. Primus can drag me to The Smelting Pit for all I care."

* * *

Even after the static cleared from their processors, the pair remained a huddled tangle of limbs on the floor. So lost in one another's embrace, they couldn't bring themselves to move.

"Raji?"

"Hm?" Mirage replied drowsily. Their coupling left him completely drained and on the verge of recharge.

"Love you."

"I love you too Sideswipe." Mirage shifted using his lover's chest plate as a pillow and tried to slip into recharge.

"Raji?" Sideswipe's grip tightened around his lover.

"Yes," Mirage responded with a hint of irritation. Right now he wanted to recharge, not converse.

"I lost you once. I'm not letting you go again," Sideswipe mouthed against the cables in Mirage's neck. The contact sent shivers through his frame.

"Sides, you don't have to worry. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."


	41. 50 Spade

50-Spade

**AN: **_The Gambler _scenario applied to Sideswipe and Mirage. Also epic fail on my behalf for lack of updates and the creation of a very sucktastic oc.

In the capitalist society that was Cybertron, a steady supply of Energon was a necessity. The fuel paid for the occasional upgrade, a nice bottle of polish, and their Towers apartment.

In times of war a steady supply of income was especially necessary. The leniency of officers could be bought and sold easily. A few cubes of high-grade were needed to get their names put on a list for leave, and copious amounts of energon were required to pay for their fare to this grand resort.

Luckily, Sideswipe was very good with money. To him everything and everyone had a price, and everything had its profits. He could turn one cube of energon into ten, ten cubes into one hundred.

Except for tonight.

Sideswipe sat hunched over a poker table. His eyes transfixed on a small screen before him. Within the digital cards on the screen, there was absolutely nothing that could grant him a winning hand. "Fold," he sighed.

"Sides you can't be serious," Mirage whispered into the red mech's audio.

On this particular excursion Sideswipe had been very loose with his funds. After a few cubes of high-grade for himself and his partner, a couple intriguing trinkets, a nice room at the hotel, and a few cubes spent on gambling Sideswipe and Mirage were left with very little energon. Without enough for the return trip to Cybertron, there was only one thing to do. Win the difference through what got them in this situation in the first place. Gambling.

"You saw my hand Raji. I couldn't even risk bluffing, or I'd lose even more of our meager funds."

A frustrated sigh escaped Mirage's vocalizer.

"Listen, I don't see you coming up with any better ideas. Either we try and win back our money, or we're stuck here. We're due back at the base within the next Orn. If we're not there we'll be considered deserters, and then they'll order our deactivation. I assume that would be pretty messy..."

"_I know. I know," _Mirage replied through their bond. _"We could try a distress signal." _

"No Autobot ship travels out this far. Besides, we don't want to get picked up by an Autobot ship. We're not allowed to go farther than Moonbase, let alone here.

"One more hand," Sideswipe sighed plunking his last few chips onto the table.

"Sorry buddy, but if that's all you're willing to bet, I'll have to gamble elsewhere," a strange bulbous alien spoke.

"Slag," Sideswipe murmured under his breath. This was their last shot at regaining some of the money he'd lost to this mech. "Slag, Sideswipe think! You need to be on a shuttle to Cybertron within the next couple of cycles."

"Hey, your friend too much of a cheapskate to buy you a drink?" The creature asked Mirage.

"Excuse me?" Mirage responded.

"Pretty little thing like you should have a drink. Hey," the other mech tapped a waiting drone "Get him a cube of yer' finest high-grade." He gestured towards Mirage. "So are we gonna play for real or what?" he asked Sideswipe.

"_Sides, he didn't just have the nerve to..." _Mirage asked through their bond.

"Hey Raji, I just think I found our way home."

"_What?" _Mirage asked giving his bond mate a confused glare.

"I don't have any more chips I can bet with. Sorry. Maybe you'd take some other form of credit?"

"Go on," the creature spoke.

"Let's go for all or nothing. If I win I get all the chips you have with you right now."

"What if I win? You have nothing.," the other gambler growled.

"Oh, I have something. I have something I think you really want. If you win," Sideswipe pulled Mirage into his lap and ran his lips down the length of his lover's neck provocatively. "You can borrow him for the night."

Sideswipe could barely hear the alien agree over the Mirage's protest. Mirage jumped from Sideswipe's embrace and exclaimed through their bond, _"NO! Sideswipe do you realize what you just said? What if you lose? You've lost every other hand! I'm not doing it! I won't do it! We can just stay here and rot for all I care-"_

Mirage glared at the creature across the table. Green, gelatinous, and slimy looking, the high roller was absolutely repulsive. He seemed not to have limbs orifices, save one vile yellow eye, and for a moment Mirage wondered how this disgusting creature could do anything remotely intimate. He promptly shuddered at the thought.

"Hush Raji," he whispered. Sideswipe tilted his lover's chin so he could look into Mirage's fear filled optics. _"No way that freak is gonna touch you." _

"_What if you lose?"_

"_Listen, If I win we have enough to get home." _Sideswipe stared at the screen. Another lackluster hand gave him only a Prime high. _"And if I lose, all you have to do is turn invisible once you get to his room. Subspace the valuables, then disappear. Of course I'll be close by if anything goes wrong."_

Mirage put his arm around Sideswipe's shoulder and held it in a vice grip. _"I positively loathe you at times."_

Sideswipe wrapped his free arm around Mirage's waist and whispered through their bond, _"I know."_

Sideswipe hit the discard key on his screen. His hand only changed slightly; his best still being a prime high. A holographic image of his hand appeared on the table along with his opponent's.

Mirage gasped unable to believe his optics.

"Sorry!?" Sideswipe whispered nervously.

* * *

Sideswipe leaned against the casino's bar and sipped a cube of high-grade. In the distance he heard a faint, beautiful sound he hadn't heard in a long time.

A group of femmebots sat across the room chattering, looking his way, and giggling on occasion. He nodded and raised his cube toward them. Since they bought him the drink, it was the least he could do.

At that moment he regretted gambling Mirage to a gelatinous beast. If prostitution was the answer, they could've had way more fun with the femmebots.

As for Mirage, Sideswipe knew he was okay by the constant ranting through their bond. For the past breem or so constant rants of, _"I hate you. I loathe you," _and _"Why couldn't it have been you to go through this," _consumed his processors.

"_Yeah, yeah," _He answered. _"He hasn't touched you or anything has he?" _

"No. He can't touch what he can't see."

"_Get anything of value?" _he asked.

"Depends on what you mean by value," a deep, familiar voice whispered in Sideswipe's audio.

Sideswipe felt a sharp pain in his knee joints and fell to the floor. His energon cube spilling in the process. "Hey! What the slag is that for?" Sideswipe found himself looking up into the very irate optics of Mirage.

"That's what you get for putting me through that," Mirage replied. "And," he added pulling something from his subspace pocket. "It's for this." His hands were full of casino credits and small cubes of high-octane energon. "Fair trade don't you think?"

"I guess. Hey help me up. Next shuttle leaves in three breems."


	42. 38 Touch

38-Touch

**AN:** I am so very, very sorry for not updating this in forever! I never forgot this fic. Real life, writer's block, and a thousand other things have prevented me for working on this. Warnings for dubious consent, rusty writer attempting to get back in the saddle.

"Sunstreaker stop it! This is so," Mirage tossed his head back and grunted. "Wrong." The spy struggled and tried to free himself from Sunstreaker's grasp.

However the stronger mech lie on top of Mirage trapping him. His hands and lips were free to roam and tease the blue mech in any way he wished. "I know but," Sunstreaker grabbed the blue protesting hands that pressed against his chassis. He brought Mirage's arms over his head . "You're the closest thing to him I have right now."

"What?" Mirage gasped.

Sunstreaker's free hand wandered down Mirage's chassis. His golden fingers languidly traced the black twenty-six on his captive's chest plate. Nuzzling Mirage's neck he explained, "I feel him in you." His palm rested on Mirage's chest directly under his spark. "And, I mean, you know what happens to us when we're apart."

Mirage turned his head refusing to meet the yellow twin's gaze.

"I just want to be close to him." Sunstreaker released Mirage's hands. He then tilted Mirage's chin so their gazes met. "You have to know what I mean."

A long, pained sigh escaped Mirage's vocalizer. "I do, but…"

"You smell like him," Sunstreaker interrupted. Sunstreaker inhaled deeply to get the most accurate reading from his olfactory sensors. "Like cheap wax and scorched metal…" He closed the remaining space between himself and Mirage. Their lips pressed together, but only for a moment. "Hell, you even taste like him." He kissed Mirage again. This time the kiss was harsh and demanding.

Despite his protests, despite the fact he knew it was wrong, Mirage succumbed to Sunstreaker and kissed him back with equal fervor. "But Sideswipe…" He whispered when the kiss finally broke.

Sunstreaker pulled back, his expression nothing but rancor. "Primus what do you think I am? I do have some self control. " He caressed Mirage's inner thigh. "I wouldn't do anything to compromise your bond."

Mirage sighed another frustrated sigh. The strange intricacy of this situation made his processors throb. He understood Sunstreaker's pain. Being apart from Sideswipe tugged at his spark and drove him crazy. The desire to be close, and needed was overwhelming. It was the main reason Mirage hadn't tried harder to fight Sunstreaker's advances.

And for a moment strange, jealous thoughts entertained Mirage's processors. What did Sideswipe do when he was away, and with who?

A few moments of groping wouldn't hurt, because Sideswipe wouldn't want his brother to be needy or alone. Mirage leaned forward and kissed Sunstreaker on the bridge of his nose. "Fine."


	43. 38 Too Much

**AN: **So it's been awhile….Sorry 'bout that.

33-Too Much (or) Dare to be Stupid

"Are you-" Mirage interrupted himself with a sharp needy gasp. "Sure about this?" He seemed to answer himself with a series of stifled moans and gasps that seemed to say, "It doesn't matter if it's wrong, or even dangerous. It feels _right." _

"Of course I'm sure Raji. Perfectly safe. I even considered checking one of Rachet's medical text files for confirmation!" Sideswipe raked his new toys of mass eroticism down Mirage's chassis once more. "Besides it can't be that much different from your electron distributor? Can it?

"Not even close. Consider-ah-consider this. Place any other _common_ electronic next to a magnet and-ohmy-bad things happen!" As if to almost completely confirm or absolutely negate his point, Sideswipe traced the magnet along the curve of Mirage's inner thigh. Static buzzed from the juncture, and the blue mech was all but reduced to a puddle of molten metal.

"I've considered it plenty, and decided that your hedonistic aft would rather get fragged in the throes of passion than on the battlefield." Sideswipe briefly withdrew the magnet. Mirage shot him a dirty look, but he wasn't sure if it was from the sudden lack of attention, or his own snarky remark. The red Autobot reached over and pulled two more magnets off the wall. These magnets were larger, "U" shaped, and fit perfectly around each of Mirage's hip joints. "Besides, you trust me right?"

"Of course," Mirage responded. He watched his partner pin his legs to the berth with the magnets. Then the ministrations continued with the smaller magnet up and down his chassis, down and around every strut, joint, and gap in his armor. Each pass making his whole interface feel like it was folding in on itself. The static that pooled around his joints now felt as if it were permanently lodged inside his CPU. Everything seemed to look fuzzy and feel even fuzzier.

Now, contact with the magnet seemed to set his plating on fire in a way that he couldn't decide was pleasurable or painful. Distorted binary images played in front of his optics. Mirage wanted to tell Sideswipe…something, but when he tried to open his mouth only a handful of gargled syllables came out.

A deep, intense feeling seemed to grow with each touch of the magnet. Fire and ice, pleasure and pain, the north and south poles of magnetized metal against him; it was all so foreign and overwhelming. Feeling that his own overload was imminent, he wondered if he would have even half a functioning processor left when this was all over.


	44. 16 Purple

**AN: **So I'm back with a vengeance, and if I have any readers left, huzzah! One thing that kept me away from this project for so long was that I felt like the universe I'd built in _Equillibrium _thus far was waaay too fluffy. Nothing wrong with that I just wanted a change. So here it is, some weird AU type deal where Mirage is a Decepticon. Cross-faction bondage sex is forthcoming. Hope it makes up for that bummer late night update that was the last chapter!

Mirage didn't quite know what brought him to the docks that evening. A dismal place full of turbo rats and scum, he tried to stay far away from wherever members of his faction seemed to congregate. And congregate they did. In the gutters drunk off of cheap Energon, spilling off of battle transports and into the makeshift taverns, the whole place reeked of exhaust and depravity. It was enough to make his armor plating crawl.

A dull gray tank lurched forward and put a battle dented arm around his shoulder. "To what honor do we owe the visit, _your highness," _the tank chuckled sarcastically.

Mirage cringed at the use of the nickname that followed him from the day he started to wear the purple emblem. Apparently very few transformers of his social status and upbringing were smart enough to chose the proper, and most profitable faction.

"I'm-" He paused for a moment trying to think about what to say to satisfy this heathen without getting into a row. "Looking for something…"

"Oh yeah? Well Swindle was inside Sprocket's bar lookin' for you _Your Highness_. Somethin' 'bout some faulty shells. I'd look out if I were you."

Mirage responded in the only way these barbarians knew how, a quick jolt from his electro-disruptor. He rendered himself invisible and disappeared into the throngs of Decepticons.

It wasn't a complete lie, what he'd said to the drunk bot. He was looking for something. He was looking for a day when the docks were restored to their former glory. He missed the throngs of bots trading Energon, information, rare crystals, and everything in-between. Now the only thing that passed through these docks were weapons and Autobot prisoners.

A group of said prisoners were being dragged from a transport as he mused. A sea of cracked and flickering optics, dripping fuel lines, and dented helms it seemed as if this pathetic group of captives had given up completely. Except for a particular red Autobot that caught his attention. Locked in stasis cuffs he struggled, spat, and cursed at his captors. One of the guards started beating the rebellious prisoner with the butt of his gun being careful not to kill the Autobot until after he was interrogated.

The red Autobot was knocked to the ground. "Get up you Autobot scum," the guard leered. The Autobot shot his captors a harsh murderous look. Blue optics searing with anger, the Autobot obliged and lunged at another unsuspecting guard. With his hands bound, the only weapon he had was his sharp metallic teeth. He bit with all of his mite and severed multiple fuel lines in the Decepticon's neck. Energon oozed down the Decepticon's neck and the Autobot's chin.

Where had he seen that dangerous look before?

Two other guards lunged, ripping the red Autobot from the fallen guard's neck. They wrestled the Autobot into submission beating him mercilessly. The larger guard pinned him face down on the ground with his enormous foot while the other guard began to charge his weapon.

Mirage watched all of this in desensitized amazement, and then, as he watched the guard's gun glow a deadly photon blue Mirage decided to do something completely out of character. Something about his determination, his willingness to die on his own terms, that murderous glare in his optics that looked _so _familiar…Mirage rendered himself visible and called to his fellow Decepticons. "Hey," the guards turned to him and Mirage could swear he felt his fuel tank drop. "How much?"

"What?" the guard responded? He briefly stopped charging his weapon.

"How much for the red piece of slag?" He pulled an Energon cube of high grade from his subspace pocket to reiterate his point.

"Not for sale. Better off dead." He began recharging his gun for a fatal blast.

Complete and utter slag. Mirage knew his faction never treated prisoners of war justly. Any Autobot prisoner could be purchased on the black market no questions asked…for a price. "I think you may want to reconsider my friend. You could kill him, or…" He started pulling cube after cube of high grade Energon from his subspace pocket. Worth a small fortune, it was Orns worth of rations for the average low ranking soldier.

"Double it," the other, unmauled guard barked. "and we have a deal."

Mirage was more than happy to oblige.

"Gee thanks pal." The red mech, although broken and beaten, still remained his rebellious demenour. "I really thought I was done there for a klik. Why the favor?"

Mirage led his new purchase through the captured streets of the once glorious city. He tugged on the stasis cuffs that were clasped around the dented wrists. "That was no act of mercy Sideswipe," Mirage spoke for the first time since he spent a small fortune in Energon down at the docks. "I never forget the face of the bot who screwed me over quite royally on a shipment of Electrum." Mirage smirked and chuckled to himself softly at his use of the crude Decepticon vernacular.

Sideswipe adopted an equally smug demeanor. "Don't kid yourself Mirage. Those ruby reds don't fool me at all. You don't fit in with these Decepti-jerks. You're lonely, and you wouldn't forget the face of the mech who screwed you royally.


	45. 71 Broken

**71: Broken  
**

**Warnings: **Noncon/forced oral (M/MA rating for this chapter)

"I still don't get it, "old friend," any other mech, any other time you would've left me for dead. What ghastly horrors await me as your personal slave?"

Mirage punched a few numbers into the keypad of his apartment and the door opened with a _whoosh._ He yanked on his captive's stasis locks and dragged him inside.

"Seems like the war hasn't affected you at all," Sideswipe murmured in awe. His optics swept up and down the room, which was as big as the bunker on the Autobot base. Every corner was filled with expensive Electrum and crystal furniture. Trinkets were scattered everywhere. Sideswipe licked his mouth as he noticed the Energon dispenser, whose glass reservoir revealed the shimmering pure pink of high grade.

"My knowledge of precious mining equipment, and import connections give me a vast plethora of resources Decepticon's couldn't get if I were dead. I maintain a great deal of autonomy, and the ability to make a bit of money on the side."

"You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself. Why do you want me? Are Megatron and his goons not allowing your carnal needs to be met?"

Mirage moved to the Energon dispenser and poured a cube. He watched Sideswipe watch him drink with lust. The Autobot must be starving.

"I haven't forgotten how you seem to get off on snappy dialogue and snarky quips," Sideswipe added.

"No Sideswipe, I'm afraid that it is another common element from our past that makes me interested in you. You too have a vast knowledge of trade. Before the war there was rarely a day that you weren't at the docks charming your way into fortunes. I find myself in need of assistance if I'm going to continue to advance, and I'm afraid my faction only provides grunts and morons in their ranks."

"That's a fine idea Mirage, but what if your captive is less than willing?"

Mirage got uncomfortably close to the bound mech, raised the cube to his mouth, and offered him a drink.

Sideswipe hungrily accepted and downed the rest of the cube.

"How's your twin brother Sideswipe?" Intel and personal experience indicated that traditional tactics would not work. This one would not be swayed with high grade, promises of amnesty, or a high-ranking position in the Decepticon army. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Sideswipe dropped his sarcastic demeanor. His jaw fell slack in shock and confusion. Last he heard he was on the front in Kaon…

"It appears the top Autobot brass has him on a little spy mission. Unusual for a melee bot no? Well, we're onto him. Ah-" Mirage waved dramatically. "I give my fellow Decepticons too much credit. I am onto him. I have abilities that give me far more function than buying and selling."

Sideswipe sputtered and cursed.

Mirage wiped a trickle of Energon from the red bot's mouth. "Sideswipe," his voice was cool and familiar again. "I have a lot of ruthless transactions to still attend to today. Are you going to play nice?"

* * *

Absolutely none of it made sense. His brother was many things, but one thing he definitely was not was a spy. Yet, Mirage had produced classified documents, images, mission plans…As far as he could tell Mirage had no real reason to lie to him. Not when there was so much evidence that the truth was dismal.

Despite his situation, the warrior seemed to settle into some kind of coexistence with his captor. Mirage ditched the stasis cuffs, and Sideswipe served his function as indentured business partner and secretary.

Mirage insisted on thorough and accurate business records. What time he didn't spend swindling his own faction out of Energon, he spent making underhanded deals.

Sideswipe had heard of mechs going over to the 'con side and changing completely. The most docile turned into fierce and loathsome creatures. For his captor however, this was not the case. Mirage was still his old, waspish, prewar self. He drank high-grade everyday, shot turbo foxes in his lush crystal gardens, and most unsettlingly, looked him in the optic and treated him as a living breathing mech.

It confused the living hell out of Sideswipe. He was designed to handle harsh labor, stinging blows, and unending abuse. But cool indifference at best, and something resembling kindness at worst? Sideswipe frowned as he turned this over and over in his processors. Maybe the 'cons had changed him more than he led on. Maybe this was all some sick psychological game to break him. He'd heard tales of captured Autobots falling in love with their captors after vorns of forced interface and bonding. He leered at him when drunk. Both of them made snide quips about past trysts, but Mirage had never forced himself upon him.

Sideswipe let out a small, hardly audible sigh. It hurt his processors too much to think about the terms of his imprisonment or why he was unable to kill his captor with his bare hands. He turned back to the small assortment of data pads on his desk. Sales, trades, profits and losses, the work although menial, reminded him of long forgotten days.

* * *

One particularly surreal Cybertronian afternoon, Sideswipe and Mirage were in the office, a disgustingly ornate room that was lined wall to wall with jewel encrusted tablets. They sat in silence filing and reporting the spoils of Mirage's latest transaction. A band of neutrals, which became rarer and rarer by the day, traded their remaining Energon reserves for safe passage into Autobot territory. Sideswipe doubted the neutrals would live to see the end of the deal upheld.

Sideswipe sat at an ornate golden desk balancing his ledger. Mirage clearly had other things on his mind. He paced the room sipping high-grade and performing his favorite function, complaining.

"I absolutely loathe having those boorish thugs inside my home. They come, guzzle all of my Energon, and on top of that demand another payoff." Mirage grabbed a crystal bottle of polish from one of the many shelves and began preening himself.

"Then why have them over?" Sideswipe murmured without bothering to look up from his ledger. After days of pondering, he'd convinced himself it was a mutual pity, not the pangs of remaining friendship and blackmail that kept Sideswipe from murdering Mirage in cold blood.

"Lord Megatron is not invited, he simply arrives." Mirage moved to the Energon dispenser and refilled his cube. He filled one for Sideswipe as if to say, "Drink. You're going to have to deal with them too. Might as well be drunk."

They drank in silence for a moment. Sideswipe averted his gaze and fidgeted with his hands and data pads. Once again the ability to relate to his captor made him all too uncomfortable.

Mirage set aside his drink and went back to polishing himself. His arms, legs, and torso were no problem. His back however…He buffed his shoulders with ease, reached around to take a swipe at his lower back, but there was that one place in the middle…

"Polish my back." It was an order not a request.

"You're a slagging pervert," Sideswipe replied. There was a certain intimacy associated with grooming another mech.

"This is a perfectly functional operation Sideswipe." Again with the out and out weirdness. Mirage seemed so repulsed by the quip. Sideswipe shrugged in confusion and grabbed the rag and bottle.

He poured the polish onto the rag and with slow, even circles began to rub the polish in. Despite Mirage's words, the affects of Sideswipe's actions became apparent immediately. Mirage's ruby eyes darkened to a smoldering burgundy. Sideswipe could feel the blue plates of Mirage's back heat up. His cooling system kicked in and fans became audible. Even as Sideswipe progressed lower he remained stoic keeping his word that this was going to be a chaste encounter.

"You're no fun today. What happened to that leering 'bot I've grown to begrudgingly tolerate?"

"He's scared out of his mind Sideswipe," Mirage spoke with a frown. The cube of high-grade found its way back to the blue mech's mouth. "More importantly," A strange restrained little noise escaped his mouth."I shall not become the plaything of my plaything."

* * *

Sideswipe had never seen mechs down so much high-grade in such a short amount of time. Yet, he was refilling their cubes every few breems. Nor did he ever think he'd get so up close and personal with the top ranking Decepticons off of the battlefield and not be able to beat the processors out of their helms. The stasis bracelets that were locked around his wrists allowed just enough movement to be subservient to Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp.

"This is your new plaything Mirage?" Starscream asked in his audio-piercing voice. "If you wanted a big loutish thug, Skywarp would have been more than happy to oblige you, and at half the cost. Megatron, Starscream, and Thundercracker erupted in laughter.

"Who you callin' loutish?" Skywarp slurred. He teleported so that he was directly behind Sideswipe. Rough purple hands grouped between his legs and across his aft. "I don't think his royal highness did half bad myself." Skywarp's hands dug into Sideswipe's hip joints and pawed at sensitive nodes.

Sideswipe let out a slew of curses. Not only was he being pawed at by a filthy Decepticon, but he couldn't do a damn thing about it!

"Skywarp stop." Mirage intervened before the situation could escalate. Despite the fact that he'd been drinking copious amounts of high-grade all evening and afternoon, his voice was collected and cool.

"Raji buddy, what's yours is mine right?"

"Not in this case." Mirage rose from his seat and approached the two mechs. A cobalt hand cupped Sideswipe's chin and gently pulled him forward and away from Skywarp's grasp. "You see I paid a great deal for this one. As you can see I'm quite enthralled with him." His hand moved from Sideswipe's chin to his wrist. Mirage pulled the stunned Autobot into a close embrace. "In order to protect my investment, I've forced him to bond with me."

The rest of the Decepticons erupted with laughter. "How utterly pathetic Mirage!" Megatron rasped. "Holding onto the most pitiful of rituals and then squandering it on this piece of Autobot scrap?" Another burst of laughter ensued.

"If you cannot share your toy with us, then show us what he is capable of!" Starscream exclaimed in a drunken slur.

Mirage's placid expression changed to one of loathing. He crumpled his empty Energon cube in disgust. The command of his superior officer was not meant to merely humiliate his Autobot slave, but to also humiliate him as well. Unlike his fellow Decepicons, he did not find forced acts of interface enjoyable to watch or participate in. It was filthy and barbaric. "I haven't consumed enough high-grade for such hedonistic activities Starscream. "

"Nonsense Mirage, show us what makes this pet worth sheltering," Megatron jeered.

"You corroded slagger! You're not seriously going to listen to him are you?"

Mirage replied with an abrupt backhand. His processors racing; his fluids were boiling. He reeled trying to maintain some element of plausibility and control in the situation.

Sideswipe was barely affected by the blow, and glared at his master.

"Of course I'm serious." Despite the lax treatment within the mansion walls, lest he forget he was a political prisoner. "I'm doing you a favor at my own expense you slagger," Mirage thought to himself. "Don't you realize that if I hadn't lied through closed mouth plates, you'd be getting grouped by more than just one pair of Decepticon hands?"

He led Sideswipe by the wrist to a large translucent privacy screen. He'd purchased it on a long ago holiday to Amoreia, the planet of blatant eroticism. The screen allowed just enough light through to make shadows visible on the other side. Traditionally used as a tease device in erotic dances and shows, it had set unused for centuries among the other extravagant trinkets that adorned his living area. They would both oblige to this little song and dance, but it would be on his terms.

They ducked behind the screen, and he pulled Sidesiwpe into a kiss that was both harsh and demanding. A choir of drunken laughter could be heard from the other side of the screen.

Then Mirage pushed Sideswipe to his knees in a way that was equally harsh and demanding. The blue bot removed the plate of armor over his crotch that housed his interface ports and cables.

"Open your mouth," Mirage ordered. He tugged his interface cable from its housing and held it near Sideswipe's mouth.

"Disgusting."

"Would you expecting anything less from your enemy and, "bondmate?""

"What if I bite it off?"

"I'll kill you without hesitation," he whispered.

With a look of pure distain Sideswipe reluctantly took the cable into his mouth.

"I like where this is going," Tundercracker called.

Sideswipe's metallic tongue snaked around the length of the cord then down to the smooth metallic plug. He lapped at the tip.

Mirage shivered at the contact. He grabbed the back of Mirage's helm and pushed his mouth closer to the wires and ports that crackled with sporadic bursts of blue static.

He encircled a port with his glossa and smirked as Mirage shudded and bit his lip in attempt to hold in a moan. Mirage wasn't exactly complicit in this either.

In. Out. In again. He lapped at the exposed ports. His tongue darted into them and causing a jolt of electricity to travel from the port to his glossa.

"Mirage is pathetic, allowing himself to become completely undone like that…What could I have ever seen in a weak willed aft like that? Oh yeah, that aft…" he thought. The stasis bracelets didn't allow him to throw a punch, but they did allow him to reach behind Mirage and give his aft a good squeeze.

It must've made for a good show for those sitting on the other side of the screen. The lust struck Autobot on his knees servicing his master. The ectacy of the master, the agony of the slave.

Mirage, wanting the whole routine to end, placed his interface cable back in Sideswipe's mouth.

Sideswipe lapped, nipped, and toughed at the small silver plug. With a final shudder and a moan that could not be subdued, Mirage's systems went into overload.

A cacophony of whoops and cheers came from the other side of the screen.

The Decepticons continued to drink themselves into oblivion. They yelled, scuffled, and broke multiple trinkets. While his superiors ran amok in his home, Mirage made certain that no one touched Sideswipe. The pair retired to a chair, and Mirage held him in his lap. The feeling of breathing and nuzzling on Sideswipe's exposed neck cables was constant. One blue hand rested on his inner thigh. The other wrapped around his waist. Anything to make the lie more believable. His faction members _would _respect him on some level.

Sideswipe sat there silent and uncharacteristically subdued. He was a bit drunk off of high-grade, and very confused. Why would his master put his aft on the line for him? None of it made any sense, and it didn't help that once again his body was betraying him. His armor felt so very, very hot, and he could feel the static building underneath. Damned high-grade.

The cool indifferent voice whispered into his audio, "It is time for my guests to leave, and it would appear that you are a bit drunk. Go to bed Sideswipe."

Because nothing else about the night seemed to make sense, and because his processors were as fuzzy as an abandoned AM frequency, Sideswipe complied.

Later that night he was jolted from recharge by the sound of metal crashing into metal. The metallic thunk of two bodies that were moving made such a cacophonous discord. The sound of stifled moans that weren't completely silenced, grunts, more crashing, they were the unmistakable sounds of interface. Sideswipe lay in the berth and waited for the noise to stop.

After a few breems the noise stopped, but he couldn't offline.

He got out of the berth and roamed the house like a giant red apparition. He felt confused and completely pissed that there was nothing he could do. He entered the spacious sitting room and paused in the shadows once he processed what he saw.

Mirage was standing on the balcony, his back facing the open door. Ugly black and purple streaks marred his chassis. Undoubtedly they'd be buffed out by morning. What he found most shocking was the large garish dents all over Mirage's body. His hips, his shoulders, and even the back of his helm was dented indicating that the noises that woke him were less than consensual.

It still didn't explain his captor's sporadic kindness, protection, or affection, but Sideswipe couldn't help but feel the smallest twinge of empathy deep within his spark. Millions of bots were held prisoner in this war. Some were held behind bars, but Mirage…Mirage's bars were that of Energon and prewar finery. His jailers were his own faction.


End file.
